As educators, we have a profound opportunity to impact society positively through the children that come through our classrooms. When planning lessons and activities, I’m thinking about what I want my students to bring and also what I want them to take away from it. Are they going to feel better about themselves and their abilities? Are they going to have a better sense of what they can do? Are they going to work better in pairs or independently?

The real value of art education at the elementary level is that it teaches creative problem solving and promotes patterns of creative behavior. Every day, I am inspired by the concepts kids bring to class. I love seeing students push through a challenging project and emerge on the other side. Walden students are bold, curious, and ambitious.

Our four children, three Walden graduates and a current student, are each different learners with individual interests and their own educational strengths and weaknesses. In each of them, Walden instilled a sense of confidence in their own voices and ideas. This allowed them to not only be successful in the challenging academic environments they moved on to, but to stand out and remain themselves.

I graduated from Walden with the class of 2012 Golden Frogs. After attending Westridge for middle and high school, I am now at Florida State University, where I have the unique opportunity of playing soccer, the sport that I love, as well as pursuing my dreams in media production and editing. Both of these passions were born during my time at Walden. Couldn’t be more thankful for the memories, lessons, and friendships that I built at Walden.

I value the social emotional learning we do at Walden with our children. It's very important to me as a teacher, and I appreciate how it’s woven into the fabric of our day. It helps our community practice empathy, compassion, and understanding for one another. Checking in with each other is one of the many ways I enjoy connecting with our students.