I grew up in Merced, CA, attended Miami University in Oxford, OH, and then lived in Ohio and Kentucky for 12 years before moving back to California in 1991.  I completed my Masters Degree in English Literature at CSU, Stanislaus in '97, taught part-time at Merced College, Modesto College, and CSU, Stanislaus before moving down to Los Angeles in the summer of 2001.  I began working at Carson High that fall and fell in love with the community and students almost immediately.  

I coached girls volleyball in Cincinnati in 1983, Livingston from 1995-1998, and Walnut Creek in 1999, and then was asked to coach boys volleyball here at Carson in spring of 2003...and have worked hard to build a quality program with the help of alumni, parents, and a few pro-volleyball athletes.  Through volleyball, I also became involved with an after-school education program: Dig-For-Kids, founded by Eric Fonoimoana to promote mentoring and goal-setting for local children.  Many of our students have not only volunteered their time in Dig-For-Kids over the past 10 years, but also remember going through the program when they were young.

I enjoy teaching in small learning communities because it affords the opportunity to work with entire families of students.  Each year I encounter younger siblings or cousins of students I've had in previous years, and our traditions continue.  I love exploring mythologies, music, and the worlds of chocolate; am an idiot for all things trivia; love volleyball, baseball and football (not always in that order) and find great happiness in helping a young person realize that "everything, and nothing, is 'possimpible'."