About Me
I was born and raised in Statesville, NC. After high school I attended The University of South Carolina for two years. My junior year of college, I attended a semester long study abroad in Paderno Del Grappa, Italy. Once I returned from Italy, I transferred to North Carolina State University where I pursed my dual certification degree in Middle Grades - Language Arts and Social Studies. Along the way I received my certificate in Global Perspectives and graduated Cum Laud. As of 2015, I am beginning a distance education graduate program through East Carolina University. The program is called the MaEd READ program. Upon completion, I will gain a certification in Reading Education, Digital Education, and AIG.
Leadership and collaboration
Over the past few years my continuous curiosity has led me to a wide variety of experiences.
Below is a list of organizations and collaborators I have had the honor of working with:
Below is a list of organizations and collaborators I have had the honor of working with:
- K-2 Reading Specialist Practicum- While working in Buena Vista, Virginia at Parry McCluer Middle School, I have been able to participate in a K-2 practicum which leads to collaboration between middle school and elementary school teachers with a focus on foundational word recognition and comprehension skills.
- Formative Assessment Pilot - While working in Buena Vista, Virginia at Parry McCluer Middle School, I was part a of pilot team to introduce collaboration and innovative practices through formative assessments with Ms. Liza Mackey.
- Curriculum Review Week: Iredell-Statesville Schools. 2015 English Language Arts representative. Curriculum Review Week is a chance for district representatives to collaborate on the upcoming school year, edit and create curriculum guides, and edit diagnostic and benchmark tests for the district.
- Innovation Showcase Presenter: Iredell-Statesville Schools, 2014-2015 presenter to the English Language Arts district teachers.
- International PenPals - Students from my NIMS, 8th grade class, collaborated with an 8th grade class at the International School of Curitiba in Brazil. To make this activity a reality, I collaborated with a former colleague and mentor, Stephanie Barker.
- TOP 2013: Exploring The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton. NC State program which partners Education in Middle Grades majors with 7th grade students at Centennial Middle School. Throughout this program we work to refine skills in comprehension, digital literacy, collaboration, and presentation through reviewing the text and creating a music video..
- Digital Literacy Collaboration: Ms. Melissa O'Connor (Clayton, NC), Dr. Pope (NC State), Mrs. Erin Walle (North Iredell Middle School), Dr. Barbara Hill (North Iredell Middle School)
- Web2.0 Tools in the Classroom: research partners Allison Echstenkamper, Kelly McGoldrick, Megan White, and Alexis Teasdell.
- Employee of the Month for Buena Vista City Public Schools district: January 2017
- Student Ambassadors: College of Education at NC State University
- DARC member: Department of Alumni Relations Committee
- Literacy Club at NC State: Founding Member
- Honored Guest with the Advisory Board of NC State
- Student Teaching Abroad: Brazil (4 weeks); 2014.
- Alternative Spring Break: Group Member for a 10 Day Long Service Project in Punta Gorda, Belize
- Study Abroad Programs: Teaching internship - Curitiba, Brazil; 2014. Political Science Study Abroad/ Internship in Istanbul, Turkey (4 weeks); 2013. Service Project: Belize; 2012. Study Abroad in Paderno Del Grappa, Italy (3 months); 2010.