I've been an educator since 1992, and my career with DoDEA began on September 1997. I'm a plank holder for DoDEA Pacific Guam. My undergraduate degree is in Theater Arts (Gonzaga University). My graduate degree is in Language and Literacy, and ESL (The University of Guam).
My 3 children are Joshua (25), Jeshuah (10), and Jeseriah (7). While Joshua works in banking in Nevada, his younger siblings both attend Andersen Elementary School. Joshua is a certified fitness trainer as well. Jeshuah loves Legos and creating animation. Jeseriah is uber creative and she is never short of a personal opinion. :-)
I worked in professional theater for 4 months. I was miserable. It seemed the creativity with which I used to produce, direct, and act in shows in college didn't transfer over to the day to day in professional theater. In that world, once the show is up, it's the same everynight. I couldn't picture doing it for the rest of my life. As such, I decided to try to get into education, again. I say "again" because I took one education class in my undergraduate degree, and I was bored. So, I dropped it. Getting certified in a specific field in education, however, was an unexpected exciting experience. The classes I took were more relative to the practice of teaching. Still unsure as to whether it would be my career, I entered my last semester of my certification, and did my student teaching. Once I was left alone in the classroom, I felt this warmth come over me. I felt my soul "click" into place. I have been teaching since and the last thing my job will ever be...is boring. :-)
As an educator, my hope is to play a role in my students lives, not just in their communication skills, but as a guide. Maya Angelou once told Oprah Winfrey, "You don't know what your legacy is." I believe the same. While I will be the best teacher I know how to be for our children, I hope that in doing so, I've left in them a legacy unique to their time with me. Whatever that is, may it be a part of their becoming.