About Me

I am originally from Pennsylvania just over the Maryland line, however, my husband of 16 years, Fabián, is from Guadalajara, Mexico. We have two boys: Asher and Judah, ages 8 and 2. We speak Spanish at home as our primary language to make sure they grow up bilingual. We have a Weimaraner dog and two Ragdoll cats. I enjoy creek floats, jogging, reading and spending time with those closest to me.

As for my professional history, I started out as a medical interpreter for 5 years in a clinic in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania as I finished up my bachelor's in Spanish, minor in Art and teacher's certification.

More recently I completed my Master's Degree in Spanish Translation and Interpretation from the University of Texas. I have 10 years experience as a teacher: 6 years teaching Spanish in the U.S. and 4 years teaching English in Mexico. My husband and I lived in Mexico for a number of years as we were working on his immigration papers. Our time in Mexico gave us many interesting stories which most Americans would find unbelievable.

During my time teaching English in a private school to students of mixed ages, mainly high school aged and adults, I saw that some of my students were able to become fluent within just 6 months. I measure "fluency" by one's ability to communicate with others and not by perfection. This experience showed me that the amount of time we meet in public school for Spanish class in the U.S. is more than sufficient to reach a communicative level of language acquisition.

However, in order to attain these high level language skills we must stay in the Spanish language 100% of the time (or as close to that as possible) and we focus on having a positive classroom environment. I love language because I love people. Language is the way we get to know others whether it's in our own backyard or in a distant land. I'm looking forward to getting to know each of my students!