Always still learning.

Coursework at Bay Mills

I am completing my A.A. in Liberal Arts at Bay Mills Community College. Courses like Child Development, Educational Psychology, and Special Education Foundations have given me the vocabulary for what I already saw in speech therapy and ABA — that learning is developmental, relational, and deeply individual.

Learning from the work

My roles as a virtual speech therapy aide, behavior technician, and caregiver have taught me more than any textbook could. I have learned how to read a room, how to hold steady when a student is dysregulated, and how much progress can happen in the small moments between the lesson plans.

Attending an AI in education conference

Through Sault Schools I attended a conference on AI in education, and it genuinely shifted how I think about technology. I used to picture AI as ChatGPT answering questions. Now I see it as one more teaching tool — helpful, imperfect, and worth teaching students to use responsibly. I have started using NotebookLM and MagicSchool AI to plan more efficiently while keeping lessons individualized.

Reflective practice

I make time to think honestly about my work — what went well, what did not, and what a student needed that I missed. Reflection is uncomfortable sometimes, and it is one of the most important habits I am building as an educator.

Growth mindset

I ask my students to see feedback as information, not judgment — and I try to do the same. Being new at something is not something to hide; it is where growth actually starts. Balancing school, work, and motherhood has taught me that lesson every single week.

What comes next

After my associate's I plan to keep going toward a degree in special education and speech-language pathology. My long-term goal is to be a teacher and therapist who serves students in the Upper Peninsula and the community I call home — a familiar face in the classroom who understands where they come from.