A bit about me: I am brand-new to the San Diego area; my partner is in the Navy and was recently stationed here. Before moving to California, I lived in Denver, CO where I spent the past five years of my life finding my calling in teaching and project-based learning. In my free time I enjoy reading, writing, gardening, cooking, camping, hiking, traveling, and seeing live music. I am obsessed with my dog (a Corgi named Bilbo Swaggins) and I am originally from St. Louis, MO (go Cardinals!). When I was growing up, my father–an immigrant who worked to pay his way through college when he came to the U.S.–always emphasized the importance of education, and it is absolutely thanks to his upbringing and influence that I became a teacher. A bit about my teaching philosophy: I believe a successful classroom not only prepares students to be excellent readers and writers, but also empowers them to be effective world citizens. I celebrate diversity in my classroom–each one of us comes to the table with different outlooks, values, and experience, and all of these perspectives are valuable. We learn best from one another, so I strive to make my classroom a space where every individual voice is both heard and honored. My hope is that these practices empower my students to develop their own individual worldview and unlock their passions for learning and for our global community.