1. Do you believe in luck? If so, what do you believe brings you good luck?

I believe that luck is a possibility, but I really think that what happens is more of a result of personal choices and consequences rather than just luck.

2. What made you want to become a Spanish teacher? What do you enjoy about the job?

I have always wanted to be a teacher. I had originally thought that I would be a second grade teacher, but I loved Spanish in high school.  Being a high school Spanish teacher has been the best of both worlds.  The content of alphabet, colors, numbers, etc. is similar to the elementary school level, but I find that I like the older age students more compared to the younger ones.  I absolutely love my job.  I laugh every day!

3. What book, TV show, or movie do you think everyone should read/watch? Why?

It is very difficult for me to choose just one. Dan Brown is one of my favorite “current” authors.  My favorite book of all time has to be Gone With the Wind.  Of the classics, I love the author John Steinbeck.  For a time in my life, I was reading fictional murder mysteries with my mother.  I recommend that people try all different types of genres.  Give it a shot!  I became a much more avid reader when I finished college.  I got to choose the book, and I set the pace.  Reading opens your mind and your heart!  It is traveling when you can’t!  I think that everyone should read!

4. What was the most interesting trip you’ve ever taken or place you have visited?

Internationally I have been to Canada, Spain, and I lived in México for a semester in college. México would have to be where I did the most exploring because I had the time.  Nationally I have been to almost all of the 50 states.  My dad was a professor, and he loved to travel, so each summer we would pack up the old wood paneled station wagon and off my family went.  I love to meet new people and see new places.  Every trip provides opportunities for new adventures!

5. If you could be anything besides a teacher, what career would you want to pursue and why?

In college at one point, I had changed my major because I decided that I wanted to work at the United Nations in New York City. But the knowledge of two languages was not enough to be employed there.  I was told that everyone who works there knows at least 5-6 languages as a minimum.  I stuck with Spanish and English and went back to the teaching idea.

6. If someone could go back in time and open your high school locker, what would they find?

My high school locker was boring. I had the usual books and writing utensils.  I probably had an unopened stack of notecards that my mom made me get, and I never used!  I went to Holland High School in Holland, Michigan, and our lockers were 12 x12 squares.  There was no room for a coat.  Our campus was open to the elements and each subject area was in a different building, so we had to go outside to go from history to math or from English to science.  We needed to wear our coats all day in the winter!

7. What was your first job? What was it like?

I worked at an ice cream parlor when I was fifteen. It was two blocks from my house, so I rode my bike there and back.  I liked it, but always kept in mind that I did not want to work here forever.  It was enough to save for a used car and then on to a restaurant job at sixteen.

8. What is something that was popular when you were in high school that you thought was cool at the time but now just seems goofy?

I graduated high school in 1988. We all had spiral perms and big hair.  Making our bangs stand on end…just right…it was an art form!

9. If you could have one song play every time you entered a room, what song would play, and why?

I have absolutely no idea. It would have to be something that I could change depending upon how I feel at the time.

10. If you could go back and give advice to your high school self, what would you tell her?

I would tell her, “It will all work out! The love, the college, the career, the kids, the house… it all works out.  Not exactly how you planned, prepared, or wanted it to, but in the end it all worked out!  You did it!”  I would want my teenage self to relax a bit.