I was born on the West Coast in California, but grew up living mainly on the East Coast and in the South. My father was in the Air Force, and we moved every couple of years. While that made it difficult in school, I learned that every place is fascinating and there are good people all over the country. I still love traveling.
After graduation from high school outside Omaha, Nebraska, I headed for BYU to become a Registered Nurse, my dream since I was 8 years old. Instead of finishing my degree, I married and raised a family of five children. I returned to school after many years to finally finish my degree in Nursing, but realized that I was more interested in studying history and literature instead. I changed my major and graduated from BYU with a major in English and a minor in History.
I began my teaching career in Salt Lake City teaching 7th and 8th grade English at Churchill Junior High as an intern. The next several years were spent teaching 7th grade English and Utah History at Oquirrh Hills Middle School. Our family moved to Alpine and I transferred to Mountain Ridge where I taught 9th grade English and Utah History for three years. When the school divided and Timberline was built, I transferred and have taught English, Academic English, Academic US History, US History, and Read 180 for the past 15 years. I have taught middle school for a total of 25 years.
I love reading, especially historical fiction or non fiction! Students that enjoy reading make the best students.
I love movies, even quirky ones like Napoleon Dynamite. I watched the filming of Napoleon in Idaho because my husband was in it. Watching it get filmed was even funnier than the movie. However, my favorite movie of all time is To Kill a Mockingbird.
Unicorn City is a movie that was filmed mostly in Alpine, and it was written, directed, produced by my sons and my husband. I worked in pre-production and production on it and had the experience of a lifetime seeing film making begin at crafting the script all the way through post production.
My Philosophy on Travel: Becoming acquainted with new people and new places is the best education of all. Every turn in the road brings a new perspective. Travel to historical places is the very best way to understand and appreciate history!
My Philosophy on Education: Never ever give up learning. Be curious about this world you live in. Keep studying something that interests you; be a lifelong learner. Education, continually learning about something, is what makes this world fascinating!