Wichita State University in May 2015 – summa cum laude

Wichita State University – Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.)

Secondary Education and Teaching: English

• Kansas Teacher of Promise Recipient November 2014 

Butler County Community College (Kansas) – Associate of Arts (A.A.)

Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities

• Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society: 2009 - Current
• KNEA-SP (Wichita State University): 2014 - Current

Annual Kansas Association of Teachers of English Conference – Wichita, KS: 2015 – 2019

National Medal of Honor Workshop – Tokepa, KS: 2017

Annual AVID National Convention – Dallas, TX 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2022

Bridges Out of Poverty Workshop – Augusta, KS

Augusta Senior High – English Language Arts Teacher: May 2015 – Present

Volunteer Experience

• Community Poetry Project Leader August 2014 – East High School
• Kansas Association of Teachers of English (KATE) – Conference Presenter 2015 and 2017

My husband and I have four awesome kids and two grandsons! Our only daughter is married with two boys of her own, and our oldest son lives in Manhattan, KS. Our two youngest boys attend school in Augusta! Although we currently live in Wichita, we hope to move to Augusta soon. We have one crazy yellow cat named Niko the neko. Neko means ‘cat’ in Japanese. 

I can’t think of anything else in the whole world that I would rather do than teach. It is the hardest and most rewarding job that I have ever done. It is also the only job that I have ever had that I look forward to each day when I wake up. I genuinely miss my kids when I don’t see them, and I can’t imagine how empty my life would be without their creative brains to keep me on my toes! 

I have a passion for literature and learning that I cannot wait to share with the world! I firmly believe in teamwork, consistent personal reflection, high expectations and the support necessary to achieve goal sets, as well as creating a growth mindset in my students that encourages perseverance and integrity. I believe that academic accomplishments are most meaningful when they positively impact the person and not just their GPA. I want to instill in my students a mindset of growth, curiosity for learning, and above all the confidence that they can succeed!

When I am not teaching, my hobbies include crafting, reading, and cooking. I also enjoy gardening when I have space for one, but I only have outdoor plants because I usually kill the indoor varieties. I may have a  brown thumb when it comes to houseplants, but I really enjoy having a veggie garden and hope to find a place with a big outdoor space when we move.