Why did you decide to become a chemistry teacher?

“I always liked science in high school, and my dad was a science teacher. When I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do, I actually swore I’d never become a teacher because both my parents were teachers. Eventually, I went to Penn State to study chemistry. When I graduated, my first job was something I had a very hard time getting excited doing. I was either improving detergent formulas or making potato chip bags. It just didn’t mean anything to me, personally. So, I quit my job and became a teacher. North Penn was the first place I interviewed, I got the job, and here I am.”

How many years have you been teaching?

“This is my twenty-seventh year!”

Besides being a teacher, what are some other activities or jobs you do?

“I advise the chemistry club and the science olympiad – where you compete against other kids based off of your knowledge of science. They review stuff and then there’s other kinds of topics and challenges they do.”

If you could pass one piece of advice along to your students, what would it be?

“In subjects like chemistry and math, do your homework! I found this out in college, actually, I came from a high school that didn’t have an honors program. Because of this, I didn’t really have to work as hard in high school. When I got to college, I got crushed during my first semester. I wasn’t prepared for the amount of work. On high school tests, there were always a couple of easy questions, with the occasional hard one. I got to Penn State, and it was basically all the hard questions. Lesson learned! Please, everyone, do your homework.”

What’s a fun fact about you that other people may not know?

“I’ve gone skydiving, which I enjoyed a lot. I used to coach track here, I advise the honors society, and I also was a class adviser a couple of years ago. I have three kids, they’re all in college right now. I own a shirt business on the side, it started as tie-dying and turned into silk screening. I’m also really into buying stocks!”