Born: August 16th in Madison, WI
- I grew up right outside of Madison in a small town called Cottage Grove.
Education: Graduated from UW-Madison
with a Bachelor of Science degree in Physical Education and a minor in Sports
Medicine. During my time at the UW, I worked as a trainer with the Badger
football and basketball teams assessing and treating practice and game
injuries, taping hundreds of ankles and hands, and assisting with the
rehabilitation of athletic injuries.
Background: For some reason, as far back
as I can remember, I have always known that I wanted to teach Physical
Education so it made the path I chose very easy. Something that was a positive
influence on me was my parents who just celebrated their 50th wedding
anniversary! They are both very active, athletic and very dedicated
individuals. My father played baseball for over 20 years, so I basically grew
up “on the diamond” and was always surrounded by sports. But life wasn’t all
sports - academics and grades were very important and even graduating from
college was expected in my family before getting married and starting a
family.
Philosophy: My teaching philosophy is to
provide a variety of physical activities to help all students acquire
knowledge, skills, and positive attitudes toward themselves and others that
will enable them to maintain a health and fitness level to function
effectively in today’s society. I believe students should have the opportunity
to create, examine and uncover their potential for movement. As students get
older the accent shifts toward appropriate body mechanics, physical fitness,
and developmental skills. Along with skill developments in sports, knowledge
of game rules and teamwork advance. I don’t believe P.E. is a time to “let off
steam”, each class period has specific goals and objectives. Self esteem,
respect for oneself and others is a must in my classes. Children need to
become thinkers and problem solvers and understand concepts and choices. I
want to give the children a taste of everything in hopes that they may find
that certain sport or activity that sparks them into a lifetime of action and
physical fitness.
Hobbies: SPORTS, of course! Any kind!
Due to old and overused bones and joints :), I don’t play many competitive
sports anymore like I used to, but I stay active by walking, biking and
swimming when I can. I also do have the occasional spare minute for crafting,
sewing, and learning new things on the computer.
I am married (26 years) to Antonio (Tony) who
works for the State Department of Justice as a Special Agent. I have two
children, Roman (23) and Rachel (22). Roman works for the Milwaukee Police
Dept. Rachel will be a 5th year senior at Northern Michigan University in
Marquette, MI. She is majoring in Human Centered Design while coaching
volleyball at Marquette High School and also for the Articatz Club Volleyball
Program.