I have taught, first as an assistant then later as a lead teacher, at local learning centers for a little more than two years. First I worked with infants through school-age for a little over a year; during my second year as a teacher, I have been teaching infants through pre-Kindergarteners. I implement and carry out curriculum, develop children's language skills, read, sing, do chants, and play with them, and take care of changing diapers, feeding, and general care-taking.
Beginning in January 2018, I developed the website and social media content for my blog Le Chemin Joyeux, French for "the joyful path." My blog currently covers style, makeup, healthy recipes, and faith and spirituality. I also write picture books and am working on a few young adult novels.
Before I began teaching, I completed my master's degree through St. Mary's University of Minnesota, writing my thesis on how children of all ages who have experienced abuse, neglect, mental illness, and trauma are impacted by the arts. In addition to the subject matter covered by my thesis, I studied arts education, arts law, finance, project management, communication, humanities and culture, and marketing, as well as related topics. I completed my bachelor's through the honors program at Augsburg University, receiving my degree in Communication Studies (with an emphasis in Mass Communication and Journalism), with minors in Dance, Music, and French.
The year before I began graduate school, I volunteered with the nonprofit FreeArts Minnesota, co-leading and completing weekly art projects with preschoolers who had gone through abuse, neglect, mental illness, and other forms of trauma.
The arts have also been an integral part of my life since a young age: I played piano (performing, competing, and studying music theory) for 14 years, I sang in choir 17 years and studied voice privately for six years, and danced (studying modern, ballet, hip-hop, jazz, and African) for nine years. I have also been writing from a young age.
Working with children has enhanced my flexibility and compassion; writing as a part of my career has increased my creativity, organization, and communication skills, through essentially being my own boss in this aspect of my work life.