Biography
Purpose
I'm working toward a Master of Education with a Concentration in Educational Technology at San Diego State University to broaden my pedagogical horizons. I would like to bring the passion and commitment I exhibited in the classroom for over 20 years into a wider context to help solve problems within business, government and non-profits.
Background
I was raised in a small ski town in Vermont, called Stowe, and devoted most of my childhood years to ski racing. I attended the University of Vermont (where I enjoyed the view above of Lake Champlain), but I quit in my junior year to join an international Christian evangelism organization called Youth With A Mission (YWAM).
For the next ten years, I worked as a missionary and ESL teacher in 35 countries, including Japan, Guatamala, Grenada, Belize, Russia and Greece. I met wonderful people from all over the world, learned a lot about many different cultures and had some fantastic adventures. Those experiences were the catalyst to my becoming much more tolerant and understanding of diverse cultures and beliefs.
But those experiences also were the catalyst for a major change of heart, and in the late 1980's I slowly stopped believing in God and Christianity. I went back to college and finished my bachelor degree in Writing at Indiana Wesleyan University.
Teaching
I then moved to Boston to begin a career in teaching English as a Second Language. I loved it so much that I earned a Master's Degree in Education from Boston University in 1995. After living and teaching in Boston for 16 years, I decided I'd had enough of being indoors most of the year because of the cold and moved out here to wonderful San Diego. I'm loving being outdoors all the time biking, running, walking, hiking, etc. Currently, I am a contract ESL Instructor and Reading Coordinator at SDSU, working with international students who are seeking acceptance into American university programs.