"As I approached graduation from UCSC, on my way to a B.A. in American Literature, I realized I had perhaps an even greater love for language studies--but I also realized I was ready to be done with school! After several preliminary years in a local community college, I was looking forward to being free from reading novels and writing papers (sometimes doing both in Spanish!), and two years in university was enough. Following graduation, I asked myself, "What on Earth am I going to do with a literature degree? Write? Teach?" The latter option seemed to make the most sense--but it would mean more school(!). Maybe I should have stuck it out and obtained a degree in Language Studies. And then...just a few months after graduation, I met a woman who would soon become my wife. Little did I know, life was about to take me on an unexpected adventure that included several years of youth ministry with "tween," middle school and high school students. This was an incredible and invaluable experience that prepared me for the season to come. All the while, I also continued to think about teaching. Almost nine years later, I decided it was time to return to school to obtain my credential.

I graduated from Simpson University in Redding, CA, with a Multiple Subjects credential, issued by the state of California. Unlike my waning days of college life at UCSC, this time I decided it was worth the extra time and money to also obtain a Masters in Education, which I did. After graduation, in another unexpected turn of events, I secured a instructional aide position in a local alternative high school, became the teacher the following year, and have been teaching in Alternative Education ever since. During these past 9 years, I have learned to utilize my love of language, math, and science to teach students in both whole-group and one-on-one settings, and love making connections across these three content areas. The vast majority of students I work with struggle academically, and many have previously bought into a distortion that the" less...