Background
I was born and raised in Howell, Michigan in a wonderful, God-fearing family of seven all together. While growing up, my parents immersed me in a Biblically based education, on top of regularly attending church and church activities. My parents always encouraged me to obtain a genuine, personal relationship with God, for which I am forever grateful. At age eleven, I found myself with an intense hunger to know God and his promises through studying scripture. I can see now that this was the work of the Holy Spirit. I do not have a specific date memorized, but this was around the time that I became a born-again Christian. In 8th grade, I had the privilege of teaching several students violin, and this grew a desire to teach children as a life-long career. After graduating high-school and attending Moody Bible Institute, the Lord has directed my passion for teaching into the specifics of urban education and loving on students of various backgrounds and cultures. The Father has continuously revealed his steadfast love and faithfulness to me in every season of life. With full confidence, I am able to profess that I would not be who or where I am today if it were not for the Lord’s truth and love that is continuously sanctifying me.
Development
While attending Moody Bible Institute (I graduate in May 2019), I was a part of a student ministry group called Urban Cohort. The ministry’s purpose is for students to live intentionally in a neighborhood within the Chicagoland area and experience the beauty of cultures, as well as share the gospel through every day living. I lived in Chicago’s Chinatown for two and a half years, serving the people there through the local church and working at the local Christian school, Pui Tak Christian School. 90% of the families at PTCS are not believers. At Pui Tak, I had the privilege of interacting with not only the students, but the students’ parents as they picked them up from the afterschool program. Working at Pui Tak cultivated within me a love for Christian urban education. I believe that my experience at Pui Tak Christian School has prepared me to interact with a variety of students and their families.
While living in Chinatown, I was also studying and being prepared by Moody's Education Program to enter the world of teaching. This thorough preparation was acquired through attending method's classes, getting a head start on student teaching from a two week teaching program called Junior Practicum at Lexington Christian School in Lexington, KY, and attending ACSI's Midwest 2018 PD conference.
In addition, I am currently completing my 12 weeks of student teaching in Okinawa, Japan. I return to the US at the end of March. Okinawa is known to be an extremely diverse island and I have learned so much through interacting with many beautiful people, different from myself. As I am currently in the process of student teaching, I have truly realized how difficult and how much work teaching is, but I have also never felt more fulfilled. The Lord has continuously strengthened my passion for children and sharing the gospel through education as I have been training.