Emmanuel Lutheran Church & School

I was born in Flint, MI. My family has 9 children. I am the only natural child. My brothers and sisters were all adopted. I lived the first eighteen years of my life in a one stop light town, Millington, MI. After high school I went on to Concordia College, Ann Arbor, MI where I received a BA in Education with a minor in math and sociology.

My first call took me to the mountain state of Colorado where I taught 2nd and 3rd grade for seven years. It was in CO that I met the love of my life, Greg, and gave birth to my 1lb.7oz. preemie, Austin James. Through my marriage I also gained a stepson, John and a stepdaughter, Melinda.

Though we hated to leave our mountain state of CO, Greg and I decided family took precedence to mountains. That is when I accepted a call to Emmanuel Lutheran, Dearborn, MI.

In my nine years of teaching I have taught a 2/3 split for three years and 2nd grade alone for six years. In addition to teaching I've been hot lunch lady, yearbook advisor, and latchkey director. In my spare time I enjoy shopping, watching movies, remodeling our home, and going to my Mom's for the weekend.

The reason I became a teacher is quite common of most teachers. I wanted to make a difference in the life of a child. Now the real question is what keeps me wanting to teach? I'd have to say it is the sparkle in a child's eye when he finally figures out a math concept, the forgiving spirit in a child who hasn't been treated so kindly, the squeal of joy from children in a P.E. class, the look of amazement a child may have from a science experiment, or the expression of a child's faith in Jesus in religion or throughout the day. Where else could I learn so much or see such excitement?

When I tell my students it's time to pack up for the day some students say they don't want to leave. They like school. I guess I must be making the difference that got me into teaching to begin with.