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First Experiences Overseas...
In 2015, the summer after my sophomore year in college, I volunteered in a program called Learning Enterprises. I was traveled to Phichit, a rural province in Central Thailand where I taught English to 3 classes of 6th graders and 3 classes of 7th graders. During my 9-week stay, I had the amazing opporunity to live with a host-mom and host-sister (who I remain in contact with to this day). My favorite memories are using games, music, and laughter to break through language barriers with my students. And the food, of course!!
The following year in 2016, in the spring of my junior year, I participated in a language-intensive study abroad program in Beijing. As non-native speakers, everyone in my program committed to a language pledge--committing to speak Mandarin Chinese 24/7! I built wonderful friends through that collective challenge. Together, we 吃苦了 (direct trans: "ate bitterness"; meaning: the struggle was real). I learned a lot about boldness and perserverance. Beijing was such a great experience, I extended my stay overseas throughout the summer. I interned for an education investment group in Shanghai, where I worked on partnering Chinese and American high schools for student exchange programs.
Teach For America & more...
In 2017, I joined TFA as a Corps Member in Charlotte, NC where I taught 8th grade math and Algebra 1 at McClintock Middle School. I loved the classroom and my school community so much that two years just wasn't enough! I am currently finishing up my third year at my original placement school. McClintock has a robust STEAM magnet, offering amazing elective courses ranging from coding to forensic sciences. Seeing the creativity of K-12 STEAM classes firsthand encouraged me to expand my own computer science skills and apply to Kode with Klossy. In addition to math, I've also taught Chinese Language & Arts as an enrichment class and I am head coach of the awesome Girls' Soccer Team.
After my second year in the classroom, I was selected to participate in the Aspiring Leader Program--a TFA principal pipeline fellowship. I was paired with the district's Chief Academic Officer as my mentor, who gave me a glimpse into all moving parts (read: headaches) that go into the smooth operation of a massive school district (read: putting out fires constantly). I worked on the roll-out of a first-year curriculum adoption in 8th grade math. Sadly, a lot of the data we were hoping to gather from this adoption has been rendered defective with the craziness of virtual learning and *Cardi B voice* CORONAVIRUS!