I was born and raised here in Yuma, Arizona. With the exception of small trips and a couple of summers spent in Flagstaff, I have lived my short life entirely in Yuma I am interested in many things. I LOVE to read!! Almost anything. I love to travel, even just small day trips. I enjoy learning for the sake of acquiring knowledge. I also love little trivial bits of information.

I always resisted the idea of becoming a teacher. My mother and father are both educators, my mother's mother was a teacher. Even my sister is currently going to school to become a teacher. It is just too done. Where is the adventure, the excitement in trodding down the same well-worn path that so many had already taken? This was my thinking until three years ago. After high school, I half-heartedly attended college classes but had no feeling of direction. Telling myself that it was just to earn a little extra money until I figured out what to really do with my life, I applied for an instructional aide position at a local special needs preschool. I went into the interview not caring if the job was offered to me or not. As I sat and listened to the interviewers talk about the students and the mission of the program, I began feel a certain interest and excitement. Driving home from the interview, I found myself hoping that I would be chosen. Two weeks later when I finally was told that I had the position, I was thrilled! When I started the following week, I knew that this is what I wanted to do.

I love my job now. I work as the assistant to the speech therapist. I get to know a wide variety of students with a huge variety of needs. They are so much fun, so full of surprises. There is no monotony with these guys!