Profile
Journey
My dad often cautioned that “one day my mouth would get me in trouble”, to which I would reply that it could also get me out of trouble. My loquaciousness was brought on by a desire to ask why and push back against what was in place, if only to ensure its stability. Starting down a career path in marketing, I was driven by the idea of creating messaging strategies that connected a seller's products with the customer needs. However, when I asked “why” I was either told that the why wasn’t important or that the answer was because the (seller/customer) wanted it that way.
Not satisfied with that line of thinking, I made the move to education with the goal of explaining the why to the next generation. While teaching high school, I enrolled in an M.Ed. program focused on instructional design and technology. My studies led me to think less about providing the answer to questions and more about developing learning experiences that allow students to create their own “why”.
Now working in higher education, I’m engaged in addressing challenges without an easy answer. The why is not the answer to the problem; instead, it represents the motivations of those necessary to drive change. I’m invigorated by the opportunity to help others discover their why and to putting those efforts to work to enact true change.
Philosophy
Education is a endless series of experiments focused on achieving an unattainable perfection. In this impossibility we can find liberation. Each educational encounter is an opportunity to try new approaches informed by the data collected from past experiences. I believe that these experiments, when done collaboratively and with good intentions, can move us closer to the ideal learning experience, even if that goal will always be just out of reach.
Commitment
Operating outside of the classroom for the past decade, I view my role in education differently. I now rarely see a direct connection between my actions and the wellbeing of specific students. Instead I support others, who support instructors, who ultimately support students. Yet, this does not change my enthusiasm or commitment to education. I believe that actions, when focused on improving the student learning experience, can have a profound impact, no matter how tertiary they may seem. My reward is no longer seeing individual students succeed, but seeing my community thrive. I am proud of the impact that my work is having in Richmond, Virginia, and beyond. This is my motivation and what drives me to keep pursuing excellence in education.