Biography

My journey in education came full circle in 2015 when I joined the Menlo School faculty as the 6th-grade science teacher. A graduate of the high school, I benefited from so many inspiring and encouraging Menlo teachers and left aspiring to better understand how we learn. This drove me to study neuroscience at U.C.L.A, however, I found myself more interested in learning from the “macro” viewpoint than the “micro” synapse-to-synapse level. I found myself volunteering for after-school science education programs, tutoring with 826LA, and working at UCLA’s UniCamp, a summer camp for underrepresented youth in East LA.

Upon graduation in 2008, I pursued another interest: art. I studied and worked as a graphic designer, which eventually led me to work at a summer art camp at the de Young Museum in San Francisco. After that summer I realized I had to be in the classroom. I then worked for Aim High in Marin City, interned at Menlo School, taught 6th-grade math and science at the Head-Royce School in Oakland for three years, and finally returned to Menlo in the fall of 2015. It feels nice to reconnect with so many familiar faces.

In my time outside of school, I love to find outlets for my creative side: painting, experimenting with pickling and making my own jams, and exploring the Bay Area. I never pass up an opportunity to travel or camp in the mountains. Oh, and like most of the sixth graders I teach, I really want a puppy.