My love for teaching stretches way back to my junior high school days when I gave up my study hall time to be a teacher aide for several teachers around my school. I graduated from Ponca Public School, a K-12 rural school located in the beautiful bluffs of the Missouri River in northeast Nebraska. Next, I attended Dana College, a Lutheran liberal arts college in Blair, Nebraska. Not only did I receive my Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education, but I met my future husband, Todd, too! As a young child growing up in rural Nebraska, I had experienced many multi-grade combination classrooms. I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to experience a two-room school where I was the only 1^st grader! For my first year of teaching, I went back home to Ponca and taught a 5^th/6^th grade combination room, so I felt right at home. After my first year of teaching, I married Todd and joined him in Omaha, Nebraska. Here I taught 7^th and 8^th graders for 6 years at Holy Name Catholic School. During my last year at Holy Name, I was blessed with my daughter, Miley.  Within a year, we moved to the Quad Cities where I taught 4^th grade at Rivermont Collegiate for 11 years. I was honored to join Lourdes Catholic School in the fall of 2017 as a fifth-grade teacher, and Miley was welcomed in the 7^th grade. My family is so grateful for the warm, faithful, family atmosphere at Lourdes Catholic School.