I am so excited and honored to join the Bengals family this school year! For the past six years, I have taught 9th grade ELA in Cumberland County Schools, and I look forward to working with our 8th graders to prepare them for their high school curriculum. I'm so thankful for a wonderful team of seasoned 8th grade ELA teachers, who will help ensure that our students get the same curriculum in my class as they would in their classes.

 

I graduated from Louisiana State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication in 2000, and my first career was as a newspaper and magazine writer and photographer (I held various roles depending on the publication.) That career took me from Western New York to New Hampshire to California and, finally, to North Carolina in 2006. I was so excited to transition to teaching in 2016 through Lateral Entry because I get to incorporate my love of language, writing and literature with preparing students for the world. I earned my teaching certification from East Carolina University in 2019. (I can't stay away from purple and gold school colors, apparently.) It is my privilege and joy to create a classroom environment that is conducive to learning and a culture in which students feel safe, loved, respected, and that their contributions matter. 

 

I am the proud mother of one daughter, who's attending the University of North Carolina Wilmington to pursue her bachelor's and master's degrees in elementary education. She knew even before I started teaching that she was called to a teaching career herself. My hobbies include singing (both in a community choir and at church), photography, reading, attending theater/art and sporting events, and spending quality time with friends and family!