I lived my entire life prior to leaving for college in Oldham, SD. Oldham is a very small community of about 140 people. Oldham is so small that it does not have its own school district; Oldham is combined with a neighboring town to form the Oldham-Ramona School District. At the time of my elementary education, the elementary school was in Oldham and the high school was in Ramona. I was very lucky in the fact that my grandma worked across the street from my home at the elementary school. I spent many hours following my grandma around as she worked, both through the summer and the school year.

When I started 7th grade, I began going to school at the high school in Ramona. The elementary school and junior high/high school continued to be separated into two different buildings until the summer before my junior year of high school. At that point, the elementary school building was declared condemned and all grades were moved into the high school building in Ramona. The elementary classes were held on the first floor and high school classes were on the second floor. During my senior year, I was offered a unique opportunity due to the new arrangement of K-12 classes in one building. I had the opportunity to serve as a teacher’s aide for two of the elementary teachers during my study hall time.

My prior experiences made it easy to choose a major when I went to Dakota State. I chose to major in Elementary Education and K-8 Special Education. The combination of knowing my teachers on a personal level and spending so much extra time in the school made me positive I wanted to become a teacher. During my years at DSU, I saw how much of a difference technology could make in the education and motivation of students who would’ve otherwise given up.

After graduating from Dakota State in December of 2009, I chose not to waste any time and began to work on my masters degree. I chose the MSET program through Dakota State because I had enjoyed my experience as an undergraduate there. In June of 2010, I accepted my first teaching position at Rutland Elementary. I was very excited to be offered the job because I was going back to a small school. In the fall, I started as a half-time K-6 special education teacher and half-time 6th grade language arts teacher. I am currently the full-time K-6 special education teacher in Rutland.

When I’m not working on lesson plans, IEPs, or my own homework, I enjoy spending time with my family and friends. I especially enjoy going to SDSU Jacks basketball games with my dad, camping with my mom, and making my older brother roll his eyes as I spoil his daughter, Erika. My niece is definitely the apple of this teacher’s eye. I also love doing arts and crafts and being an ‘honorary auntie’ to a very special four-year-old redhead affectionately known as ‘Munchie.”