Travel
Highlights
I was born in Northern California and raised in Utah.
I resided in Las Vegas for four years and have lived
in Southern California since 1982. I love to travel
and have explored much of the Western U.S. After graduating
from college I spent a summer in Guatemala. In 1999
I participated in Toyota's first International Teacher
Program and traveled and studied in Japan. It was
a wonderful experience and made me eager to travel
more. I planned my family dream vacation and during
the summer of 2000 our family trekked across six European
countries. As a European History teacher, I loved
the entire trip. In 2001 I was fortunate to spend
a week at the Library of Congress in Washington D.C.
as an American Memories Fellow researching and writing
document-based lessons. I absolutely fell in love
with the staff, the collections and the awesome on-line
digitized treasures. As a recipient of the 2004 Teachers
in Excellence Award Program, I participated in a cross-cultural
exchange. In July 2004, 36 American educators met
with 105 teachers from ten countries of the former
USSR at a conference at Chico State. In
October 2004 I flew to Kiev and lived for two weeks
in Odessa with a teacher of English. Living with locals
and teaching high school students in Ukraine was an
incredible experience. I returned one week before
elections. Following Ukrainian politics took on a
whole new light. A dream came true when I traveled
to China in 2006. Hiking along the Great Wall was
incredible. Sharing the experience with good friends
made it unforgettable.The highlight of my summer was
participating in the resident program at Mount Vernon.
It is easy to admire George Washington. Studying his
life and contributions in depth brought a greater
appreciation of his character and integrity.
My Life as an Educator
I graduated from Utah State University with a double
major in Marriage & Family and Sociology and a
minor in Psychology at the age of 21. I became a teacher
almost by accident. Too young to be taken seriously
as a marriage counselor, I interned for a year as
a teacher and discovered that I love to teach. I also
love to learn. I am fortunate to have a job that I
enjoy so much. I hate to lecture and get most excited
when students have fun learning. In 1995 I completed
my Master's degree in Educational Psychology at CSUN.
I teach World History, AP European History, and IB/AP
Psychology. I am also a technology mentor and help
teachers improve their computer skills.
When I'm Not Working . . .
My favorite time is spent with my family. I am happiest
with a house full of teens and young adults with lots
of activities going on or sitting on the sidelines
watching my children play sports. I spend too much
time on my computer and seldom watch television. I
would rather relax with a good book. I love to swim
and enjoy water and snow sports. During the summers
I relax, travel, visit relatives, attend workshops
and teach technology classes.
Web Sites I Like
The Library
of Congress website is by far my favorite site.
I can spend hours exploring the resources, lessons,
collections and features.
Our Documents is also a favorite.
My favorite search engines are Google
and Altavista.
Librarian's
Index is my favorite directory.
