What did you do after Valley? Where did your life take you? 

After Valley, I received a B.S. in Elementary Education from Grand Canyon University and accepted a teaching position at Scottsdale Christian Academy. During my 11 years there, I taught 4th grade, 5th grade, and K-6th grade gifted. In 2000, I earned a Master’s degree in Education: School Counseling and was an elementary school counselor at SCA. In 2003, my first son was born and I began teaching social studies methods classes in the college of education at Arizona State University. In 2007, we moved to Louisiana where I worked as a high school counselor and taught education classes at Louisiana State University. Pregnant with our second child, we moved back to Arizona in 2008. It was then that I began working for an agency in Phoenix that provides habilitation to special needs children and adults. I served from 2008-2012 as a case manager and in 2012 headed up the training and education department. In 2010 I also began teaching education classes at Northern Arizona University as well as Grand Canyon University. In 2011, I began my doctoral journey in a ground cohort at Grand Canyon University. I am currently writing my dissertation on social presence in the online classroom and will graduate in April, 2016 with a doctorate in Education.

Tell us a little about your daily work:
I manage the daily operations of our training and education department. This includes hiring, monitoring and evaluating trainers, creating testing and evaluation procedures, developing and implementing on-boarding training and continuing education classes for staff, writing curriculum, and developing materials for all of our face to face classes, webinars, and online classes. I also teach curriculum and methods classes to pre-service teachers at GCU and supervise practicum students at NAU.

What’s one surprising thing we don’t know about you?
After a painful divorce, I felt God prompting me to start a non-profit organization for single moms. I believe that God allows us to go through hard circumstances in life so He can reveal His abundant love for us and so that we can help others who are going through similar situations. In December 2014, I founded Hope4SingleMomsAZ which is an organization committed to empowering single moms through education, resources, and practical assistance. We offer one time grants for single moms with emergency needs for things like diapers, food, electricity, etc. We also offer scholarships for single moms enrolled in college. You can visit our website at www.hope4singlemomsaz.org

While you were at VCHS, which teachers, coaches or classmates had the biggest impact on you?
Mrs. Bolkema had the biggest impact on me. I loved her history classes and her teaching style. It was in her classes that I developed a love for social studies.

How do you stay connected with your friends from Valley and VCHS?
Mostly through Facebook

What’s one lasting memory you have of VCHS?
Spending time with friends, attending sporting events at school, playing in the “Pep band.”

Do you have any advice for current students? 
Enjoy every moment and get involved. Don’t take Bible class for granted- learn all you can. Listen to your teachers- they are wise. Thank your parents for sacrificing to give you a Christian education.