| After many years at Harding High School and Central High School, I joined the Capitol Hill staff in 2007, working with the 4th, 5th, and 6th grades. This year I'll be working with the 1st through 5th grades. Even though I miss the high school students at times, it's been a pleasure to work with elementary students again. Their energy and eagerness to learn are unbounded.
One of the reasons I became a German teacher and then an ELL (English Language Learner) teacher is my interest in other languages, cultures, and places. During the summer break I often travel, and the portrait represents the type of travel I most enjoy, travel which allows me to be more than just a tourist. My face is usually not as dirty as it is in the picture, but this is how I usually looked at the end of the day while working as a volunteer on an archeological dig near Winslow, Arizona. Other adventures have included teaching in Karasjok, Norway, a Saami community above the Arctic Circle, teaching in English language camps in China, and spending six weeks with Global Volunteers in Tanzania.
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