Where did you grow up?
I grew up in the small town of New Haven, Iowa.
Where did you attend college? What is your degree in?
I graduated from the University of Northern Iowa with a degree in Industrial Technology. Later, I graduated from Dunwoody’s ELNS program.
How long have you been working at Dunwoody?
15 years!
What is your favorite part about working at Dunwoody?
My favorite part about working at Dunwoody is being a part of hands-on learning. I have so many opportunities to see the look of accomplishment on a student’s face after a good day in the lab.
What is your favorite memory at Dunwoody?
One of my favorite memories at Dunwoody was watching one of my students receive the Student Leadership Award at the end of the year. He was with his parents, and he looked so proud. That was an award that was highly deserved.
Have you seen Dunwoody’s “project-focused, real-world learning” educational philosophy work? How?
Yes. Graduates have told me that many of the projects they did in class have been directly applicable to their job, and that having done those projects helped them tremendously.
For example, a former student in Web Programming & Database Development told me about a very helpful project she did while in the program. Her group met with an actual company, got requirements and use cases from them, planned and proposed a site idea, and then built it. She said that the site is still active today and that it was a very realistic and helpful lesson!
What are a few of your hobbies?
- Doing anything with my family
- Gardening
- Editing family videos (at a very amateur-level!)
- Genealogy
Do you have any pets?
Yes. Three cats.
What skill would you like to master?
Video editing.
What books or TV shows are you enjoying right now?
I’m enjoying re-runs of older shows I used to watch like “The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson”, “Coach”, and “Hogan’s Heroes”.
What three things could you not live without?
- My wonderful family.
- A place outside where I could plant tomatoes.
- Internet access. I get antsy when I’m on idle time and go too long without it.
Please provide 2-3 fun facts about yourself.
- Before I started teaching here, I had such terrible stage fright. It was to the point that I would get sick thinking about having to get up and speak in front of people! I thank Toastmasters and “falling on my face” several times in the beginning for turning that around.
- I was a student in the first class Rob Bentz (current Dean of Computer Technology) taught here at Dunwoody.