THE PROFESSIONAL STUDENT
Background info...
Personal Profile
In my 15-year professional career, I've done a little (in some cases a lot) of everything. I've coached ice hockey, tennis, volleyball, and football. I've directed and performed with several bands at "Rock Shop," and served as sound engineer and producer for albums you can listen to on Apple Music and Spotify. I've chaperoned ski trips, theatre visits, and multi-day retreats. This web page, like my resume, only shows a thin sliver of what my career's been all about. But what I most want you to know about me is WHY I do this: my main goal in working with students is just to get them excited about life, excited about exploring, excited about realizing their potential. And whether it's in the classroom, on the court, on the stage, in the studio, or anywhere else - I just love helping students find their place.
Scroll down to learn more about my places, where I've been, and just a snapshot of what I've done at each.
Johns Hopkins University
2011-2014
Masters Degree - Liberal Arts
Notre Dame of Maryland University
2014-2017
Masters Degree - Teaching (MAT - Special Education and English Dual Degree)
University of Maryland, Baltimore County
2004-2008
BA - English; Communications & Technology
I graduated with a degree in Liberal Arts. What I loved about this program is that, while most master's degrees become more narrow and specific, I felt that mine, in the Humanities, broadened my academic and intellectual horizons. I was exposed to such a wide range of art, poetry, literature, and culture, and believe that this experience perhaps enriched and informed my approach to teaching more than any other specific experience I can name.
I completed my second master's degree in 2017, my 7th year as a teacher. I am sure that I learned much more "in the field" than anyone could learn in a classroom, which is why I am a strong advocate for 'hands-on' learning.
My original plan was Dental School, so I spent almost 2 years as a Biology major, which I am now extremely grateful for - since it gave me a solid foundation in the STEM classes - Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Math.
I then switched my major to English. UMBC has an incredible English Literature program of study, and it was here that I really learned to read for the first time.
Education
McDonogh School
2023-present
I am currently employed at McDonogh School in Owings Mills, Maryland in their Learning Center. I teach classes to students with diagnosed learning disabilities that feature explicit instruction and guidance in executive function skill development. I love working with kids to develop fundamental organizational and planning skills, and also collaborating with extremely talented and supportive faculty.
Learning Specialist
Mount de Sales Academy
2020-2023
Director of the Sacred Heart Program
I'm extremely proud of the work my team and I did at MDSA, helping to develop the accommodations and special education program offered at this small, independent school in Catonsville, Maryland. At MDSA, I developed the Executive Functioning Skills Survey as a way to identify specific goals for each student's development. This allowed us to track our students' progress in each area with some measure of objectivity, and the results were amazing. Students went from being on the brink of failing out to earning honor-roll grades as we worked to support not just the classroom content, but the weaknesses the students had in their Executive Functioning chains.
Mount St. Joseph High School
2000-2010
DePaul Program Instructor
MSJ has a fantastic program for students with learning disabilities, and I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to work with some excellent special educators, many of whom have gone on to become leaders in the field. At MSJ, I was given a caseload of freshmen, and then kept that same group for all 4 years until they graduated, and then started over with a new group. This exposed me to basically ALL high school content and forced me to develop the ability to provide instantaneous on-demand lessons in any subject at any given time.
