Where are you from?

I am from Sterling. I went to Potomac Falls, Go Panthers! But it’s been weird because I’m from the other side of Sterling, so everything’s different. On this side, all the shopping centers where people go to hang out, it’s just different.

Why’d you decide to become a teacher? 

So I knew that I wanted to be a teacher because I knew that I loved writing. But I also did a summer camp at George Mason, a writing camp, and we got to put together our own kind of lesson for these different activities, different stations, and I put something together and  did the lesson and I just loved the joy that I was passing to other people. I’ve also had bad teachers that weren’t quite there for me the way that I needed them and I wanted to be the teacher that I needed for my students.              

Have you taught elsewhere? 

I taught at Seneca these past two years.         

What was your first impression of Dominion?

[I was a] long-term sub the first day that I worked here, and what had happened was I accidentally pulled an all-nighter at college. So I’m driving home, and I’m like, ‘you know what? I might as well make money today.’ So I called [Dominion High School] and they said, ‘Yeah, we need subs please come here!’ So I subbed, and they put me into the early education room, and a kid pooped on the floor. So it wasn’t the best impression, I will say. 

What are you looking forward to doing here at Dominion?

I’m really excited to [teach] some of my students that I taught as eighth graders that are now sophomores. My eighth graders from just last year are now freshmen, as well as the students that I long term sub with Mrs. Valdez. It’s just nice to be able to watch you guys succeed; I’m gonna cry so hard when I see you guys graduate you know? The thing that I’m already enjoying is this [English Department] is just everything. The English team at Seneca just wasn’t very close, you work with your grade, but there’s only three English teachers per grade, and you might not mesh with all of them. Versus here, we went out and hung out last Friday and I just very much feel like I belong as a teacher.

What classes are you teaching? 

I’m teaching a ninth grade class and then a tenth grade honors class. 

What’s one thing you wish you knew while you were in high school?

It’s okay not to have a fully formed frontal lobe. When you’re living in the moment, you can drown in an inch of water, but that water, it was only an inch, you know what I mean?

What message do you have for students? 

Don’t fall in. Don’t get lost.