“My first plan was not to become a teacher. I wanted to be a lawyer. I liked the idea of speaking in front of a jury, and that comfort with public speaking really set me up for that path. But I realized—I don’t want to argue every day. I want to connect. Writing, speaking, listening—that’s what I love.

Now, I get to weave that into the work I do with my students. Sure, there are rules and curriculum standards. But the real joy comes in the in-between moments—the time we spend goofing around, or when a student wants to talk to me about a connection they’ve made. Those little moments are when the classroom becomes bigger than the curriculum.

Students often come in thinking there’s only one right way to do something. But I always tell them—we all walk into the room carrying different backpacks. Inside those backpacks are our experiences, our perspectives, our stories. And the more we share, the more we realize how good it is to be different.

By the end of the year, I get to see them ready to fly—as readers, as writers, as speakers, and as humans. That’s what makes it worth it.”