Background
In mid-August of 2009, I made the move from the south suburbs of Chicago, Illinois to the east valley of Phoenix, Arizona. Two months later, I joined the staff here at J.O. Combs High School at the beginning of the second quarter. I was and continue to be extremely excited about becoming a part of a new tradition here at Combs. I look forward to continue serving the students and community of Combs High.
For the last three years, I served as an English teacher and coach at Bremen High School in Midlothian, Illinois. Prior to my time there, I worked as a proofreader for a supply catalog and as a writer for an online publishing company.
As far as my own educational background is concerned, I graduated from Carl Sandburg High School in Orland Park, Illinois in 1998. I then went on to obtain a bachelor's degree in Advertising with a minor in English at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2002. After finding my true calling as a high school teacher, I obtained my teaching certificate from North Park University in Chicago, Illinois in 2006. I am currently completing the final class for my master's degree in secondary administration from Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais, Illinois.
When I'm not working on my professional career, I can often be found reading, watching movies, running, surfing the web, listening to music, cooking, playing with my dog, or exploring my new environment.
I am also a big sports fan. Depending on the season, you can often find me demonstrating my pride for my favorite teams. Baseball: St. Louis Cardinals. Football: Chicago Bears. Hockey: Chicago Blackhawks. College sports: The Fighting Illini of Illinois. Now that I am an Arizona resident, I also find myself cheering for the Diamondbacks, Cardinals, Sun Devils, and Wildcats. However, should they be facing one of my favorites, I'm forced to go with my guys :)
As an English teacher, I feel it's necessary to leave you with some of my favorite novel selections: The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King, The Kite Runner, Water for Elephants, Flowers for Algernon, To Kill a Mockingbird, A Series of Unfortunate Events, Harry Potter, and The Twilight Saga.