Grace, Love and Kindness

Tell us about your work background and how you came to teach?

After college, I went straight into the corporate world and began a career in corporate communications. I was lucky to be amid South Africa’s transition from the divisive and racist apartheid regime to its new democracy under Nelson Mandela. One of the companies I worked for was deeply involved in that transition. As director of special projects, I facilitated joint ventures between established white and emerging black businesses. Being in the corporate world during such a seminal moment in South Africa’s history was exciting and challenging. It gave me a breadth and depth of experience that I still draw on today when my classes cover content like The Great Depression, the

Constitution and the civil rights movement.

I became interested in teaching when my husband and I were looking for a school that would be a good fit for our son. I started to substitute teach at EC to get better insight into the culture and ethos of the school. I completed some long-term substitute assignments which allowed me to immerse myself in everything EC. I was impressed by the students, administration, faculty and families and knew this was a good place for my own family. It was a smooth and easy transition to becoming a full-time teacher.

What other roles do you fill at school?

Teaching is the most important and rewarding aspect of my job at EC, but I also enjoy my other roles. As Eighth Grade Lead, I facilitate weekly meetings where all grade- level teachers and the support team meet to review our students’ academic progress. We determine the necessary interventions and create action plans to ensure that every student reaches their potential. We also review what is happening in our grades socially, as that’s an integral part of educating the whole student.

As grade level lead, I also play a small part in helping plan our retreats. Additionally, I plan our annual Silver Kite Intergenerational Project and the Eighth Grade Promotion ceremony, which I couldn’t do without an incredibly committed and involved admin and teacher team. My other role is Teacher Induction Program (TIP) Facilitator. This is my first year in this role, and I’ve enjoyed every moment of working with our new hires for 2022-23. My duties include running new teacher orientation and planning a series of workshops throughout the year to help our new teachers adapt to the EC culture and environment.

What do you enjoy most about your job?

Students are the best part of my job. I arrive at work early and enjoy spending a quiet hour or so getting ready for my day. As soon as I hear the students in the hallways, my day takes on a whole new sparkle. I open my door and students start trickling in to say hi and tackle the classroom jobs I post on the board. Sometimes they come in merely to hang out with friends as they try to ignore the “Marrow’s 80’s playlist” I torment them with. My past students come in regularly to chat and share how well they’re doing in high school English. Occasionally, they are looking for friendship, relationships or academic advice, and I’m always happy to listen and share whatever wisdom I can muster. They often just need a piece of candy and then they’re ready to face their next class. What is your biggest challenge?

My biggest challenge is also one of my biggest goals—ensuring that I have prepared each student for high school’s social challenges and academic pressures. My students’ mental health is something I take seriously, as I try to help them find balance in their academic requirements, social lives, extracurricular responsibilities and family commitments. Another goal I work towards every year is encouraging students to display kindness and compassion in their classroom interactions and beyond.

My students are at a stage where they are testing boundaries in every aspect of their young lives. Developmentally, this is entirely appropriate, but they need plenty of guidance and redirection. Ultimately, I want them to leave my class knowing that kindness is one of the most important characteristics they can embody. It’s important for them to learn that while we tend to align ourselves with those who share the same values and interests, we should still show acceptance and tolerance towards everyone. My students are a work in progress, and, like all of us, they need grace, love, and guidance to become the best version of themselves.

What do you learn from your students?

The most important things I learn from my students are patience and grace. Being around them reminds me that they are learning so much every day—not only academically but also socially and emotionally. They teach me that it’s occasionally okay to push aside the day’s lesson plan and have a class discussion on kindness and acceptance. Sometimes it’s okay to finish the lesson on metaphors tomorrow because we watched multiple “Making a Difference” videos today.

My students love the Making a Difference (MAD) videos that I save from social media and news outlets. We favor the ones that show young people doing good things for others—asking the kid who sits alone at lunch to prom, contributing to a new pair of sneakers for the kid who wore his out, giving up your Homecoming Queen crown to your friend who lost her mother that morning. My students love these examples of young people doing the right thing, and their reaction teaches me that they want to do better in their own lives too. I tell them that if they end up doing something that goes viral, it had better be a MAD video!

On a lighter note, my students keep me young at heart and ensure I know all the latest buzzwords and trends. If they walk into my classroom “flexing their drip” (showing off a cool new outfit), I can confidently comment on their fabulous sense of fashion.

What are your two EC alums up to now?

Ryan ’19 is completing his final semester in the OLS degree at Bellevue College. He is also taking flying lessons—which both terrifies me and makes me incredibly proud. The Eastside Catholic Options Program gave him an incredible springboard to a bright future, and he loves nothing more than coming back to visit his past teachers and staff members who meant so much to him during high school.

Kiki ’21 is a sophomore at Chapman University in California, studying strategic and corporate communications. She plans to complete an MBA after that and immerse herself in the corporate world. She’s very involved in her sorority, Delta Gamma, and is looking forward to her first communications-related internship this summer.

Tell us something surprising that we might not know!

I’m dabbling in writing a young adult novel, but it’s a long, laborious process.