After growing up in Dayton and attending Chaminade Julienne (class of 2004), I attended the University of Dayton where I received a degree in high school English education. After graduating from the University of Dayton two years ago, I joined a volunteer program called PACE, the Pacific Alliance for Catholic Education. Through this two year program, I lived in an intentional community, taught English and Theology at Juan Diego Catholic High School in Salt Lake City, Utah, and earned a Master’s degree in Education (Reading) from the University of Portland in Oregon.
I am very excited to return to CJ after a few years to begin working in the Ministry and Service office. This office is where I truly began to experience the beauty of community and begin leading retreats, joining faith communities, and learning about the Marianists and Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur. CJ opened my eyes to the Marianist family, and influenced my choice to go through a lay formation program at UD and become a Lay Marianist. Leading retreats at CJ lets me see a different side of all of the students. I get to see the community at CJ grow stronger and more unified as the students share their faith with one other, have fun together, and open up to one another.
This year, I am also very excited to begin teaching two classes of sophomore English. I can’t wait to share my love of reading, writing, and thinking with the students in these classes. In the classroom, I try to educate the whole child, challenging them to grow as a student and as a person, and always encouraging them to become lifelong learners. I believe that a classroom can become a community, where students rely upon each other and learn from each other’s experiences.