I graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology. (GO IRISH!) At Notre Dame, I had the opportunity to participate in extensive undergraduate research with zooplankton, mosquitoes, and bees. After graduation, I moved to Montana to become involved with wolf research. Instead, I completed a degree in English and my secondary teaching certificate from the University of Montana.

I have had a variety of jobs from frog catcher, forest fire fighter, fish regurgitator, mosquito repellent tester to high school teacher. This is my twenty-third year of teaching. I enjoy teaching both science and English. To me, both subjects go hand in hand; they both tell incredibly complicated stories with different levels of meaning. I have always required outside reading in my science classes, and I tend to see science’s influence on many elements of stories.

I am an avid reader. I devour books. My current all-time favorite books are Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey and The River Why by David James Duncan. I also love to hike, backpack, scuba dive, garden and quilt.

I believe in always giving my best, thinking deeply and dreaming big.

Northwest Montana is a very special place, and I’m happy to be able to teach at a wonderful school like Flathead High!

May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds.

-Edward Abbey, naturalist and author (1927-1989)