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Biography
Although born in California, I had the privilege of
growing up in a
small family-oriented community in Southern Oregon with my parents and
two
brothers. Oregon gave me the opportunity to live a life every child
dreams of:
snowmobiling and skiing in the winter, camping and fishing in the
summer,
frolicking in fields of flowers and shooting random objects with BB
guns. I also spent my childhood reading
book after
book: Nancy Drew, Little House on the Prairie and anything by J.R.
Tolkien. It
was my love of reading that made school life a wonderful experience for
me.
Having a wealth of caring teachers made all the difference as well.
After graduating from high school I caught the travel bug
and spent many
years in England and various parts of Mexico. Not wanting to stop
there, I
decided to live in Seattle for a few years and enjoy the bliss of the
grunge
music scene. Then, on the way to Costa Rica, I went to Vancouver
Island,
British Columbia, in Canada and fell in love with the people and the
scenery.
Once again I planted my roots and stayed for nearly a decade.
On returning to the States at the end of the 90’s, I
decided it was time
to get an education. I attended Sierra Community College in Rocklin,
where I
received ten scholarships for my efforts. I then transferred to
Cabrillo
College in Aptos, California, where I finished up my prerequisites in
order to
attend UC Santa Cruz. It was also here that I founded the Basket
Brigade, a
program in which I delivered holiday food baskets to needy families. I
also
began volunteering at the Boys and Girls Club of Salinas in which I
started a
reading and computer program.
I wholeheartedly threw myself into my schoolwork at
Cabrillo with the
intention of being accepted into the highly-esteemed writing program at
UCSC.
Only ten out of every 100 are accepted, so my desire and drive was
necessary. Although
satisfied with my acceptance, it wasn’t until I taught a creative
writing class
to a group of 7th graders that I realized how rewarding
teaching
was. I taught them how to write, for which they drew accompanying
illustrations. I then composed a book of the collection, and each child
received their own copy of their collaborated efforts. Every single
student was
so pleased by his/her work that it inspired me to become a teacher.
Last year I was accepted into the credential masters
program at UC Davis
where I have enjoyed being taught how to teach. My professors are a
wealth of
information and endless support. My long-term student teaching
placement has
shown me the ins and outs of teaching life, and has inspired so many
ideas for
my future classroom. I am looking forward to my new life as a teacher
and being
given the opportunity to enhance so many young lives. |
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