I LOVE it here at Wills Point and I LOVE my job! This is my third year teaching Yearbook/Graphic Design, Principles of Education & Training, and Career Prep.

I have been in education for 11 years. I started in Illinois where I got my Bachelor's of Elementary Education in 2010. I was a daily sub for six months before we moved to Texas in June of 2011. I worked as a daily sub in Forney ISD for nearly a year until I was hired by Forney High School. I taught graphic design and business classes there for four years where I was also an assistant softball coach. I then went to Kemp ISD as an Instructional Technology Coordinator for three years but missed interacting with students. When the Yearbook Advisor position came available at Wills Point, I jumped at it.

Prior to education, I worked as a graphic designer and web content developer. I continue today to do freelance graphics in the Forney area as well. 

I started my path in graphic design when I was on the yearbook staff as a junior in high school. I was then privileged to be the EIC (Editor in Chief) my senior year. That's where it all started.

Here at Wills Point, I teach:

YEARBOOK
The first year I advised books was the 2020 school year (COVID shut down). We completed the book even amid our publishing plant being shut down for a period of time. That book was selected by Balfour to be in their Yearbook Yearbook (not a typo!), which is the top 3% of all yearbooks published at Balfour based on design and content. We also submitted it for competition and received an Award of Achievement at the Interscholastic League Press Conference (journalism arm of UIL competitions). 

The 2021 The Cub Yearbook was selected as a national sample of quality design. The Tiger yearbook is currently under review by Balfour for their 2022 Yearbook Yearbook and was also sent in for ILPC competition in December.

Please follow us on Facebook or Instagram at @WPISD_YBK and see our WPISD_YBK Website for details on the yearbooks. We upload all of our photos to wpisdybk.smugmug.com and sell those as part of our fundraiser. Those funds make it possible for us to provide seniors with free photos for all activities of senior week including all photos we take at graduation. Last year that was over 9600 photos.

PRINCIPLES OF EDUCATION & TRAINING
This is the world all of our teachers and students live in. This is a good class for students even if they don't plan on pursuing a career in education. We study the structure of the public education system, the standards that teachers are expected to teach, the psychology of students at different ages, the process of lesson planning, visit classrooms, and see how teachers do things differently. There are plenty of opportunities for learning to make presentations as well.

CAREER PREP
This class is a 3-period class that gives students credit for one in-class period for training for career preparation and two more credits for on-the-job experience. We learn about labor laws, take career goal surveys and assessments, create resumes, cover letters, personal websites, learn to search for a professional position, explore budgeting, and the 7-Habits of Highly Effective Teens.

PERSONAL NOTE:
I am married and have two kids, both of which have already graduated from Forney High School. My daughter is a freelance artist and my son is an infantryman in the Army. We have a dog, a cat, and I tend to three planted tank aquariums.