Family:

I was born and raised in Terrace BC with my older brother and younger sister. My family has now extended to include my husband, a wonderful sister-in-law, 2 nephews and a niece who I love dearly.

My family is filled with diverse learners and our different education experiences have helped me develop a deeper understanding of the importance of differentiation and allowing students to find their unique strengths.

Education:

From kindergarten to grade 9 I attended Veritas Catholic School before moving to Caledonia Secondary School in grade 10. It was my experience in high school that sparked my passion for teaching. I was fortunate to have excellent teachers who were passionate about their subjects and cared about their students.

After high school, I came to Prince George and attended UNBC. Here I completed my Integrated Science degree, focusing on biology and environmental science. I am thankful that I was able to go through four years of education, aware that I one day want to be a teacher myself. This perspective allowed me to talk to peers about their learning and observe my professors, with the goal of learning as much as possible about teaching while working on my education.

Hobbies:

In my spare time, I enjoy being outside. I enjoy hiking, swimming, canoeing, camping and riding my horse, Eddy. I also enjoy activities such as reading, making puzzles, and getting creative (drawing, painting, etc.) from time to time.

Why teaching?

There are many things that draw me to teaching as a career. I love learning, both the challenge to improve myself and the process of helping others obtain skills and understanding.

I am fortunate to have had excellent teachers throughout my education that helped shape me into the person and learner that I am. Entering grade 10, I felt I was too slow to succeed at math. By the time I graduated, Calculus 12 was a favourite subject of mine, I was tutoring fellow students, and I was a math TA. The biggest influence that changed my outlook was my math teacher who approaches teaching with enthusiasm and humility, giving each student every opportunity to achieve their best. I have completed my undergraduate degree with the perspective of wanting to become a teacher. Throughout my four years, I have evaluated my professors and fellow students, to see what brought success, and what made classes more difficult. There are things I look for when I start a class: clear expectations, the ability to reach out for help, the opportunity to learn from mistakes, and hands-on experience. In a teacher I look for enthusiasm about the subject, patience when answering questions or re-explaining topics, desire to improve their teaching skills and ability to adjust to the level of students (simplifying and breaking down topics to an understandable level before building back to the expected level of understanding). I believe that the best teachers are avid learners who are willing to make changes to help their students. I believe every learner is unique, with their own strengths and challenges. A blend of teaching approaches (practical, audio, visual, group work, etc.) can help meet different learning needs. I have seen that connecting concepts to the world around us and our daily lives can be one of the best tools for increasing the desire and ability to understand.

I want to be a teacher that cares, invests, and makes it easier for my students to achieve their goals while preparing them the best I can for whatever their next step may be.