“Journalism is something I was involved in, in both high school and college, I always enjoyed it. There is a need for Journalism teachers, there are not a lot of us out there. Journalism plays an important role in the school. So I was drawn to it naturally. Once I got the teaching assignment, originally at Washburn Rural, I was half English half journalism, and also the same at Baldwin High School through the first couple years. But then when my role became Journalism entirely, I got even more focused on it and into it. It’s always been fun for me. Before I began teaching, I had a lot of possible options & interests I was considering, all media-related. But once I started teaching journalism I liked it, then loved it, and I’ve been doing it ever since. I’ve worked just over 30 years in the profession, after I graduated from Baker University. I think Journalism is an important class, we are serving the community and serving the school. Our students take on a lot of responsibility, and that is good for them to learn. They are working together to meet deadlines and create things that are high quality because it’s out there for everybody to see. I still plan to teach through next year to May of 2027, which is when I plan to retire. I like my students a lot, I think teenagers get a bad reputation sometimes, but they are pretty amazing people. They are fun to be with every day, they’re a lot more mature and responsible than they get credit for. Yes sometimes they can be difficult, but we were too at that age. They are trying to become young adults and become serious about the future.”