Hello! Welcome to St. Matthew Lutheran School. This school is a wonderful community and I’m blessed to be a part of it. I am the 6th grade homeroom teacher and teach Geography and History to the 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students.
Christian Education is a tremendous opportunity to develop character through the lenses of faith and service. I am fortunate to know the value of Christian Education first-hand, having attended Southfield Christian School in Southfield, MI during middle school and high school. Christian schooling helped shape my faith as a young person and led me to a Christian liberal arts college. I attended Hope College in Holland, MI, where I studied French and History as an undergraduate. I even traveled and lived in France for a semester. Immediately after obtaining my Bachelor of Arts undergraduate degree, God blessed me with many opportunities to use my academic skills to help at-risk youth. In the year after Hope College I worked at Project Upward Bound at Oakland University and AmeriCorps in River Rouge, Michigan.
My husband and I had a bit of an adventure after completing our undergraduate education, as we felt God leading us to the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. We ran a coffeehouse in a historic neighborhood in the city from 2005-2008. God spoke to me so clearly in those years as I sought his will for my life. He led me to complete a Masters program at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh (Master of Science in Education). At the same time I earned my degree I earned my certification to each Social Studies, grades 6-12. As I was completing my program at Duquesne, my husband felt a prompting to pursue a law degree. After the birth of our first child in November of 2009, we decided to return home to Detroit where Stephen attended Wayne State University Law School.
God has been behind and before me throughout the last 10 years as I’ve sought his direction in my professional and personal life. I have spent 5 years teaching fulltime and 4 years teaching part-time while raising my girls. My husband and I are blessed with three beautiful little girls: Caitlin (age 9), Samantha (age 4.5; 5 in two weeks!), and Isobel (age 1.5). They inspire me to always work hard and to pursue knowledge and excellence for the glory of God.
Professionally, I have just completed an additional Masters program, earning a Masters Degree in Literacy at Madonna University. I look forward to applying my new knowledge about the many ways to support the developing literacy skills of students in all content areas.
Personally, I enjoy reading, watching hockey, gardening, and drinking copious amounts of coffee! My students know how much I love to have them learning collaboratively through projects, group work, role play, and presentations. It brings me tremendous joy to watch students mature in their understandings of their faith and the beautiful world that God has made. There’s so little time and so much to learn!