1. What is your educational background and where have you worked previously?
I took a non-traditional route after high school by joining the
Army. I started out as an enlisted soldier--a veterinary
technician, and went to college part-time. I then got an
ROTC scholarship so I was let out of my enlisted obligation
early and received my Bachelor’s degree in Oklahoma at
Cameron University, in Secondary English. At that time, I
became a commissioned officer in the Medical Service Corps.
Eventually, I held many administrative and leadership
positions, including working in a dual role as a unit
administrator for the Army Reserves before resigning from
the Army after 12 years. In my heart, I still desired to teach.
At IUP, I went back to school to earn my Master’s in Teaching
English with certification. Later, I received a Doctorate in
Curriculum & Instruction. I taught in the Professional Studies
department at IUP from 2010-2020. This included courses in
Early Childhood, supervision of student teachers, masters in
education, masters in Literacy, some doctorate level
courses, and grant-funded opportunities with Fulbright
scholars. I loved working with International teachers from
around the globe! And now, this is the beginning of my third
year at the Rock!
2. What attracted you to Slippery Rock University and the College of Education?
I went through my doctoral program with Dr. Amodei, so
we’ve known each other since 2008. She mentioned to me
when there were some faculty needs in 2019 and it was just
the right moment in time for me to change directions.
Switching to SRU gave me something to look forward to, a
fresh start! Before then, I had several opportunities to come
up to SRU and serve on the panel for the Action Research
projects. It was always great to see the quality of teachers
emerging at the COE!
3. What is your favorite course to teach?
ELEC 285, Integrating Creative Expression Through the Arts.
My dissertation research focused on creativity in Higher Ed
and it’s been an interest for me all the way around, at every
grade level.
4. What is your favorite aspect of working in Early Childhood Education?
A second love of mine is student teaching supervision. I get
to go into early childhood classrooms and not only watch the
growth of my student teachers, but see the progress of all
those young learners. Especially in fall, when they’re starting
a brand new year, I particularly enjoy observing in
Kindergarten. They don’t have routines and rules that
they’re accustomed to yet, and then by the time I see my
student teacher at the end of a placement, all of those little
ones have come so far, too!
Also, my background is in secondary English, and I am so
connected to language and language development. Early
childhood gives me insights into language early on as it is
really developing, and I’m able to observe progress and
collect data on where that is going to go in the future.
5. What were you like as a college student?
In one word: busy! I didn’t do college “traditionally”, and for
me it was about focusing on the mission, both in a military
way and in a driven, “get it done” kind of way. I did have fun
still, but I was very committed to the mission. One of the
reasons I joined the service was to earn money for college,
so I knew what I wanted and I was going for it!
6. What do you know now that you wish you would have known as a college student?
One of the biggest things that I wish I had known was that we
all learn differently and at our own pace. Even though I was
driven, I feel like I was comparing myself to others, and
there’s no use in that. As a young person, you still care a
little too much about what other people think. I was always
trying to explain or justify myself to others. When I was
getting my Master’s and my certification, I was in my 30s and
I began to relax more and realize that it’s not a race. We’re
all in this together!
