After living in Glasgow MT for most of my life, I attended Cottey College in Nevada MO where I earned an A.A.  I went on to Mayville State University, in Mayville ND, where I earned my B.S. of Ed. in Secondary Education with a Major in English and a minor in Library Science. After teaching for a year on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation I moved to Bloomington-Normal IL.  While living there I attended the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana and earned a M.S. in Library and Information Science.  In 2007 I achieved my National Board Certification in Library Media.

I currently work at Kingsley Junior High School as the IMC Specialist but have also worked in both the elementary and high school levels with Unit 5. What I like about the middle school level is the ability to co-teach and integrate information literacy skills. Two of my favorite units these past years have been the 8th grade Daniel's Story and the 6th grade Art unit integrating China and Asian Dragons. This year I piloted an advisory program with one of our 6th grade team. Needless to say I enjoy books. Two of my favorite activities with students include the Rebecca Caudill Young Readers Award and Books and Bites involving two of the local libraries.

My second love is working with technology, where I am involved with both taking and teaching technology PDA's classes. Dabbling in technology on my own has allowed me to discover aspects I never would have imagined. My favorite computer programs include Publisher, SMART Notebook including Bridgit, and Photoshop. I enjoy web design and really wish I had more time to work on my web pages. This summer I am hoping to Moodle and make the transfer to more interactive Web 2.0! (Better late than never).

Professionally I am a board member with MIDState Reading Council, and will be serving as President-Elect next year. Through MIDState and Barnes and Noble I am able to facilitate a professional reading group, YA YNot. In the future I hope to find the time to attend the State Library's Synergy program and become more involved in ISLMA. Some day I would like to teach a college class in Library Science.

Outside of teaching I enjoy my family (a husband, two daughters, and three cats), reading and traveling. I have had the good fortune to take several tours through Explorica to the UK and the Alps region. My love of history and the generosity of the Freeman Foundation has made it possible to spend two weeks in China exploring culture, history, and education. In the future, I hope to take a trip to Japan followed by Italy and some day Greece.  On a personal level I am a member of PEO and enjoy this time greatly!