If you ask me who my favorite teacher in high school was, the response has been and always will be my high school biology teacher. If you ask me who my role model is, the response has been and always will be my mother. As a teacher, mom, administrator and now principal of a high school for at risk young men, she is a shining example of lifelong learning. She is also an example of how one can be a wife, a mother, a teacher, a friend all at the same time. It is to her credit that I find myself entering the field of education.

As a daughter of an educator, I have always been fascinated and interested in the field of education. One the earliest memories of my childhood I can recall is of playing school with my three favorite stuffed animals. Later, it was playing school with my younger brother and sister. It was not until my first life sciences class in middle school that my love of education me my love of science.

Throughout high school and college, I found myself intrigued by the natural world - the things we see in nature and the things we do not see such as cells and DNA. This love of the life sciences was why I chose to major in Environmental, Population and Organismic Biology. The field of medicine was and still is a growing, exciting, and challenging field of study, so I chose to pursue a graduate degree in Healthcare Administration. My love of science met the business of health care. 

Following graduate school, my husband and I were married and moved to Tampa, FL where he began his career as a pilot in the United States Air Force. I had the opportunity to spend the first four years of my career working as a marketing coordinator for Hillsborough County, Florida's largest not-for-profit healthcare provider: St. Joseph's Hospital. The experiences I had during these four years were truly amazing. Having the opportunity work in an environment where science, healthcare and business all meet to provide for the health and well-being of the residents of Tampa was truly an honor and a blessing. As our time in Tampa came to a close, we opened a new chapter in our lives: that of being parents.

Our adventure in the Air Force took us to RAF Mildenhall, United Kingdom in December 2010. The next month I began my journey to teacher certification and enrolled at Western Governors University. I had the opportunity to complete my pre-clinical experience and demonstration teaching at our DoDDS high school, Lakenheath High School (LHS). I worked with a wonderful mentor: a veteran teacher with a previous career in ancillary health care. The experiences, challenges and successes I experienced truly prepared me for my new career as a teacher.