PERSONALLY: I didn't always think I'd be a teacher, though you'd think so from this photo that my grandmother took when I was five years old and my brother was four. (My brother is a surgeon now, so I guess I got him off to a good start.) Before becoming a teacher I spent six years as a baker, nine years in colleges and universities, and as much time as I could backpacking. Below are pictures from Big Bear, Mt. Shasta, and the Arctic Circle in Finland. And then there are the bagpipes. Piping keeps alive the part of my heritage that is Scotch-Irish (most of my heritage is Norwegian), and gives me something to do on foggy days near the coast walking over the rise - hear them now?
BRIEF CURRICULUM VITAE: My undergraduate studies were at Augustana College, South Dakota State University, and the Universite de Nantes in France, all leading to a Bachelor's Degree in French. I began my teaching career in Berkeley, California after studying for my Multiple Subject Teaching Credential at Cal State Hayward in 1988-1989. After six years teaching in Berkeley I moved south to San Diego and was hired in Santee School District. In 2000 I attended National University from where I graduated with a Master's Degree in Educational Technology with Distinction. I was honored by my colleagues at the PRIDE Academy at Prospect in 2009-2010 as the Teacher of the Year. For the 2010-2011 Academic Year I was honored again, this time by the Santee School District, as the Teacher of the Year.