Although I was born in Chicago, my parents are from South America. My mom is from Argentina and my dad is from Paraguay. I grew up in a home where my parents spoke Spanish and my sister, brother and I responded in English. We frequently visited our relatives and I spent a summer enrolled in a high school in Paraguay when I was 16. I studied Spanish in high school and college, earning a double major in Psychology and Spanish from Marquette University. I earned college credits when I studied in Veracruz, Mexico.
I met my husband, Mike, in college and we married the summer after we graduated. We went to law school at the University of Minnesota two weeks after getting married. I practiced law in Wisconsin for approximately 5 years and taught Spanish in the Milwaukee Public School system for about two years before deciding to stay home to raise a family. Three of our four kids attend RMAE. Dakota is in 7th grade, Ellie is in 6th grade, and Lexie is in 2nd grade. Abbie is in 4th grade at Parmalee Elementary. My goal for the students is that they be able to comfortably transition into Spanish 2 when they reach high school, as well as comfortably converse with a native speaker in most situations. I plan to conduct the class speaking only Spanish, except when explaining complex concepts, while keeping a fiesta environment. |