My love of science started at birth. Both my parents were scientists, so my home was always filled with learning and experiments. Growing up, some of my favorite toys were plastic pipettes and Petri dishes that my parents would bring home for me. As I grew up, I also discovered my love for working with children and teaching. I completed a high school internship at a local daycare center and went on to work there during every college break. I earned both my bachelor’s and my master’s degrees at American University, focusing on Elementary Education and Teacher Leadership, respectively. Shortly after finishing my master’s, I began working at McLean! I taught fourth grade here for five years and loved every minute of it before leaning into my love of science and transferring into the K-4 STEM position.
As a loud and proud nerd and life-long learner, I have kept exploring new topics, both in the classroom and in science. Related to teaching, I have gone through multiple training sessions in Responsive Classroom, Executive Functioning Strategies, Trauma-Informed Schools, and Orton-Gillingham. In science, I have been focused on engineering and the way that different mechanisms work. I have been loving taking things apart and exploring how to fix and improve them.
Making things has always been a passion of mine outside of school as well. At home, I love crafting and have taken up most types of needlecraft. I love using knitting and crochet to make presents for those around me and using cross-stitch and embroidery to decorate my clothes.