The Program in Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies
I am a Philadelphia native and a 2009 GSWS Major. After Penn, I went on to earn my M.Ed in 2014 from Temple University. I have spent the past four years teaching Reading and English Language Arts to middle schoolers. My first three years of teaching were at an all-girls school in Delaware called Serviam Girls Academy, and in this fourth year, I am currently pleased to be back in Philadelphia at Girard College. Teaching is my absolute JOY! I love sharing my passion for reading, writing, and the English language with young people. For now, I am happy with my position as a classroom teacher, but in the future, I may return to school for my Ed.D in Educational Leadership. (Click above to read more.)
I have two projects that I am the most proud of in my career so far. The first project was a storytelling unit I implemented last year where each student got to write about an event from their lives and then practice the art of telling it live. Students revised their stories many times and practiced many different presentation techniques from November to May. At the end of the year, we held a community storytelling event where about 11 students told their stories for a larger audience. That event filled my heart with pride and we were even featured on PBS (fast forward to 13:05).
This summer, I also had the opportunity to serve as Summer Program Director at Serviam Girls Academy. Our theme for the summer was “Be the Change,” and students completed projects in ELA, Social Studies, Math, and Science that centered on the idea of making a positive change in their worlds. Field trips, enrichment opportunities, another community event, and a final awards ceremony rounded out our summer of positive change. Coordinating all aspects of the program, creating a positive program culture, and leading an amazing team was definitely another career highlight.
Majoring in GSWS has definitely made me a better teacher. My GSWS work really helped me to understand gender, sexuality, race, class, intersectionality, and our world in a deeper way. It is always fascinating to hear the wide range of views that young people have about the issues in our world - from the traditional to the radical. The awareness I gained through my GSWS work has helped me to help my students be more aware, compassionate, positive agents of change in our world.