Theater and English Teacher
I am educator with ten years’ experience helping students grow into empathetic, critical thinkers and responders who thrive in diverse environments and value the different perspectives that others bring to the table. I am passionate about grounding my teaching and classroom in equitable, inclusive, and anti-racist practices.
I have experience teaching in-person, virtually, and in a hybrid model (thanks, COVID!).
When I was in elementary school, I wanted to be a teacher. Then I realized teachers had to lesson plan, and that sounded like a lot of work, so I put that plan on hold and began making art. I played music, sang songs, acted in plays, and did a whole lot of theater tech as I began exploring the "why" of people. In undergrad at Washington University in St. Louis, I double-majored in theater and psychology. As I made discoveries and connections between developmental stages of the brain, experiential emotion, and character development I found myself a stage manager, sitting on the director's side of the rehearsal table, watching actors dive into individual roles and seeing the director help them connect with each other and the audience.
At the end of my senior year, I reflected on my experience. When I thought of what I loved about the rehearsal process, it was working with peers new to theater and teaching them the skills they needed to thrive. When I perused my psychology degree, I realized I had created an unintentional concentration focus on child development and learning pedagogy. I realized there was a beautiful synchronicity in my learning experience, and I found that nexus in teaching theater.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, lesson planning was not as daunting as - and a whole lot more fun than - I had thought it would be in fifth grade, and I have loved teaching and directing for the past decade. I have continually engaged in professional development to deepen my teaching practice and educational pedagogy. I am passionate about Universal Design for Learning and safe and equitable education. I strive to make my classroom a place where students of all abilities and identities can come and thrive. I am proud to have fostered a learning environment that a student described as "rooted in friendship, acceptance, and being a safe space".
I am currently completing my Master's degree in Secondary Education with a concentration in English at the Catholic University of America, with an expected graduation date of May 2021.