How long have you been teaching at NASH?

This is my 27th year at NASH, and I taught one year at NAI.

What is the hardest thing and your favorite thing about being the Senior Class Advisor?

I love being a senior class advisor.  It is so much fun organizing and planning some of the biggest highlights of the students’ senior year, like Senior Prom and Senior Banquet and getting to be a part of the seniors’ graduation day every year. I love getting to work with the class officers, too. It is so nice to have an opportunity to get to know students better outside of the mathematics classroom. The hardest part of being a senior class advisor occurred over the last two years trying to plan these big events during a global pandemic and not being able to see them all come to fruition and knowing how it deeply disappointed many students. I am really looking forward to a more “traditional year” this year, though, where these events will hopefully be able to resume back to the old “normal.”

Is there a school rivalry between you and your husband, who works at Pine Richland? 

What a great question! There have been many football games between PR and NA where we sat on opposite sides of the football field. Although I now live in Pine Township, I have been teaching at NASH a lot longer, and I will always be a true Tiger fan. The only time I have been on the Dark Side is when one of my own kids was on the other team, which luckily did not happen very often.

What is your favorite math subject?  

I absolutely love calculus. Although it is a challenging course, I feel like it really brings it all together. We have the opportunity to use math from almost all the previous math classes that students have passed before they come through my door and push the limit one step further. Pun intended.

Did you always want to be a math teacher?

I am pretty sure it was third grade when I knew that I wanted to be a teacher. I don’t think I quite knew I wanted to go the math route just yet, though. I don’t think I figured that out until about 11th grade. My math teacher, Miss Wagner, really encouraged me to go down this path, and I am so glad I did.

Where did you go to high school and college? Major?

I grew up in Robinson Township and attended Montour High School. Then, I went to undergrad and grad school at Pitt (H2P). I majored in pure mathematics and minored in psychology. I then continued my education in grad school, focusing on secondary education.

You always have the best outfits! What is your fashion advice? 

Thank you, that is so sweet. I think my best advice would be to buy timeless pieces. It’s always fun to get some trendy pieces to throw into the mix, but you can’t go wrong with the classics. Also, you can never have too many shoes, especially high heels in my opinion. Okay, maybe you can have too many.

Favorite holiday? 

This may be one of your toughest questions yet. October starts the beginning of my favorite time of the year. I am a huge fan of Halloween first. You can’t imagine the collection of Halloween decorations that I have acquired over the years. I really love it and go all out decorating. Then there is Thanksgiving. There is seriously nothing better than getting together with family to just sit down and enjoy each other’s company and be thankful that we have each other.

What advice do you have for your seniors? 

My advice for the seniors would be to not rush through this year waiting for it to come to an end, but to slow down, take in each event, and really enjoy it while you can. Don’t get me wrong, the next step certainly has its perks, but there is definitely more emphasis on adulting after this. Be a kid just a little bit longer and have fun.

What’s your favorite go-to song?

I am kind of all over the place with my music interests. I don’t really have a go-to song. I really like Coldplay, OneRepublic, Cage the Elephant, Harry Styles, Taylor Swift, Modest Mouse…the list goes on.

If you could only eat one type of pasta for the rest of your life, what would it be? 

Wow, that is tough, probably a penne pasta with shrimp and a spicy marinara sauce.

What is your hobby? 

Honestly, probably anything that I can do with my family. I love when the four of us can find the time to do something together from kayaking to binge-watching a show. Independently, though, I started making hand-knit blankets, and I do enjoy that as well as finding time to read a good book. Shout out to the NASH Teachers’ Book Club! 

If you weren’t teaching, what would your occupation be? 

I think that I would probably be an event coordinator or wedding planner or maybe work for Disney helping people to plan their vacations. I have often thought that these would be things I would consider doing after I retire from teaching. 

Favorite movie and TV show?

Some old movie favorites are When Harry Met Sally, Beaches, and any John Hughes film, I was a huge Friends and How I Met Your Mother back in the day, but my current all-time favorite is Ted Lasso.

Who inspires you the most? 

I know it is probably supposed to be someone like Mother Teresa or Michael Jordan or something, but, honestly, it is each and every person that I see doing something for someone else and not expecting anything in return. Those people always awe me and get my full admiration. 

What is your favorite variable? 

Random question…I think I will go with a classic, “x”.

If you could travel anywhere, where would you go? 

I don’t think I could pass up some island hopping in Hawaii right about now.