I am a native of Appleton, Wisconsin and have lived here for the majority of my life.  My grandpa was in the Army; consequently, my dad ended up going to 21 different schools before graduating from high school.  Wanting a more stable life for their children, my parents made the decision to keep my three sisters and me in one city throughout our schooling. I attended a K-8 school growing up. Having teachers who knew me since Kindergarten made the rough few years of middle school a little bit easier to deal with.  In 9th grade, I transferred to James Madison Junior High and later attended Appleton East High School.  I graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire with a major in Elementary Education and a minor in Language Arts.   Recently I earned my Master’s in Educational Technology.

After many years of living in Wisconsin, my impulsive nature wanted a change of scenery.  Thankfully, my husband has a good sense of humor and champions my whims.  We said good-bye to the snow and moved to Florida.  Orlando, Florida, home of many theme parks, became our home for a few years.  The sunshine and the plethora of activities the state has to offer made certain that we would never be lonely for family and friends wanting to come and visit us.  While in Orlando, I taught fifth grade.  I loved it!  My students and I had fun translating each others’ dialect and slang.  Apparently “bubblers” do not exist in Florida— just water fountains.

In the fall of 2004, Hurricanes Charley, Frances, and Jeanne tested our sanities and the structure of our home.  My husband and I decided it was time to return to Wisconsin.  We packed up an enormous truck and moved back to Appleton in the spring of 2005.  That summer, a good friend of mine informed me that Classical School was in need of a teacher for one math class and one English class.  I immediately fell in love with the curriculum, students, families, and staff. This will be my fifth year teaching at Classical School.

While I miss the thrill of living in Orlando, I couldn’t be happier to be living back in Appleton again.  My husband and I purchased my childhood home from my parents and filled it with two cats and dog.  In the fall of 2008 we were blessed with our son, Oscar.  Our animals do not always agree that Oscar is a “blessing."  Hopefully our furry friends will be more comfortable with children running about the house by the time our second child is born in March of 2010.