Harvard CUSD 50 -

"I grew up in Johnsburg and still call it home. Except for college, I’ve been in Johnsburg my entire life. I know they’re often rivals of Harvard, so please forgive me! For college, I received my undergraduate degree from Illinois State University and my graduate degree from Northern Illinois University."

"There were several people who inspired me, including my grandmother and aunt, but teaching is something I always wanted to do. I’ve enjoyed sharing knowledge, even when others didn’t want to hear it. I’ve learned as much from my students as I’ve taught them. This is my fourth year teaching in Harvard, although I worked as a teacher’s assistant in the special education department before I was licensed."

"What’s not to love? Sure there are challenges, new initiatives and acronyms to memorize, it can get noisy, and you wonder if your message is getting through, but I get to work with kids all day. I see young people be curious and determined, make mistakes and brilliant decisions, struggle and persevere. Most importantly, I see them become incredible people inside and outside of school."

"Aside from the diverse student body, I have talented teaching partners. The word “family” is tossed around loosely when it comes to work culture, but I honestly feel it’s an understatement for the people I work with. On the macro level, Harvard is a community with a unique mix of small-town feel and international flair. No matter where your family has called home, we all will happily meet at Milk Days."

"Life is too short to hold grudges. We have one chance to do our best, to be our best, to give our best. When we are feeling down, it’s important to remember that time will pass. Our students, colleagues, families, and friends look up to us…we owe it to them, and ourselves, to be our positive best. Some days we have it, some days we don’t. But if the good outweighs the bad, we’re on the right track, and as Coco’s mom from Bluey tells Chilli Heeler, “you’re doing great.” It’s important to know that."