This is my 20th year of teaching which has spanned a few continents. I have taught in the USA, Indonesia, Vietnam, Brazil, Latvia nad now here in Russia.

Growing up, I saw how much my sisters and father struggled with dyslexia and later how the lack of appropriate interventions limited their career choices. As the youngest child in the family, I enter university with the understanding that I wanted to help change this. Since then I have floated back and forth between teaching literacy at the elementary level and supporting students to find their success in school as their special education teacher. I have found that these experiences have made me very good at seeing the small successes so that they may be celebrated and nurtured just as much as the big successes. I also found that understanding my own educational struggles helps me to be more flexible as a teacher and allows me to seek out ways to best meet the needs of the individual child. By doing so, the child can feel better supported to take risks in their learning. All children understand the feelings of security and acceptance, these are ideas that transcend language and allow an individual comfort in learning.

I am the most proud of finding my true purpose in life. I understand that people find work or a career that they like, but I feel that I have found my purpose in teaching.

I came to Russia with my dog and 2 cats which I love dearly. I enjoy SCUBA diving, SUP and paint-by-numbers.

One dream that I have carried with me for many years is to find my home in this vast world, and once there I want to work towards opening a school specifically for students with Autism. I want to be able to help them to develop skills to be more independent while still being supported by caring mentor.