Education:
Harvey Mudd College, BS

Claremont Graduate University, MA

For my BA, I created a custom major called Biotechnology and Design—a mix of engineering, biology, and chemistry. After that, I earned a Master’s in Education.

I teach Physics to our ninth graders and Chemistry to tenth graders. I also teach a BlendEd class called the Science of SciFi, which explores the intersection of technology, imagination, science, and literature, and culminates with a creative project where students pick a current technology and predict the arc of that technology’s evolution into the future.

I’ve always loved science, but by the end of college, I realized I wanted a more people-centered career. I started reflecting on how I’d always found myself teaching—whether it was martial arts as a kid, reading with students at Chabot Elementary School, or tutoring in college. I even taught chemistry lessons at a prison and worked at a summer camp. Teaching was the common thread, and I realized that’s what I wanted to do.

I love how curious CPS students are. When they connect new concepts to real life or add humor, I know they’re deeply engaging with the material.

For example, every year we study free fall, and students are always super invested in how to survive a falling elevator. “What if we jumped right before it hit the ground?” That question shows they’re thinking about relative motion and forces—and gives me a great excuse to introduce some fancy math. I love how their “what if” questions naturally guide us toward deeper learning.

Common Classroom. I’ve attended fascinating student-led classes I’d never encounter otherwise. I’ve also used it to teach offbeat topics—like calculating gravity in Minecraft.

Not losing socks. I haven’t had an unpaired one in over a decade… though writing this probably jinxed it.