Education Resources

Nowadays, what do you think is the greatest hurdle or barrier that students face? How can we as an educational community support them?

In my experience, the greatest hurdle students face nowadays, isn’t a lack of information or technology; it’s the challenge of knowing themselves. The world is changing so fast, and students are constantly being exposed to so many different ideas and expectations. Learning to navigate that and find their own path can be overwhelming. Knowing one’s self is the most important thing we can teach students. Knowing their individual strengths and weaknesses will help them to navigate through life, to find joy, and to seek out support when they need it. The world will always present them with new challenges, but a student who knows their own mind and heart is equipped to face anything. As an educational community, we can support them by making self-advocacy and ever-present skill we foster. We do this by giving them a voice in their learning and teaching them how to ask for what they need. And for me, the most powerful way I can do this is by modeling a lifelong love of learning in myself every day. By being curious, open-minded, and willing to learn from them, I show students that learning is a journey, not just a destination. It’s what led me to education to begin with, and what I strive to embody in my role at Pinehurst every day.

What has been a notably rewarding moment in your career?

A notably rewarding moment for me was bringing the new library book vending machine to our school community last fall. The idea came from a desire to make books more accessible and to celebrate reading in a really fun, engaging way. After securing grant funding for the project, the process of bringing it to life was a new experience in school administration for me. Seeing the students’ faces light up when they receive a token to “purchase” a new book from the machine is incredibly rewarding. This initiative has been a tangible way to share my passion for reading with the entire school community, and it has become a central and joyful part of our campus culture.

Throughout your career, what mentor/outlet did you rely on to help guide you through the challenging parts of the educational field? What one piece of advice did they impart on you?

Throughout my career, my greatest mentors and my most valuable outlet have always bene my fellow educators. During my time teaching in the Rogue Valley, I was fortunate to build incredibly strong relationships with some of my fellow staff members. At one particular school I taught at, many of us came together as colleagues and quickly became friends, whom I’m still close with to this day, supporting each other through the daily highs and lows that teaching can throw at you. Being a part of that supportive, like-minded community of educators reminded me on the toughest of days that I was never alone in this journey. We all show up every day to support our students, but as a staff, we also show up to support each other. It’s that trust and collaboration that gives you the confidence to try new things and the creativity to solve problems. The most important piece of advice they imparted on my was simple: You can’t pour from an empty cup. This taught me that to be the best for our students, we have to take care of ourselves and each other. The shared experiences of the teachers around me have always given me creativity, confidence, and immense joy.