Teaching Journey
I didn't always want to be a teacher. My path has been shaped by many dreams and pursuits that led me here.
From growing up wanting to become an astrophysicist, to advocating for computer science education, to creating my own interdisciplinary undergraduate major in Computing, Design, and Pedagogy at Barnard College, to working as a staff member at my childhood sleepaway camp, to teaching at an elementary school in Denmark, to pursuing an MSEd in Special and General Education, to spending the 2025-2026 school year working as a Teaching Assistant at a public school in Brooklyn. Each experience has contributed to the educator I am today and the unique set of skills I bring to the classroom.
Chapter. 1
I did not always want to be a teacher because I wanted to be an astrophysicist.
If you met me between the ages of eight and seventeen, I would have told you I wanted to be an astrophysicist when I grew up. I wore this dream, this ambition, like a badge of honor. My interest in space arose during my first visit to the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History. As I leaned back, looking up at the projected cosmos, I became absolutely mesmerized. I thought to myself, Wow! People can spend their whole lives studying space? Okay, cool, sign me up!
Chapter. 2
Advocating for Computer Science Education
After wanting to become an astrophysicist, and before wanting to become a teacher, I wanted to become a computer scientist.
After graduating high school during covid in May 2020 and finishing my astrophysics research internship at the American Museum of Natural History, a new passion was sparked: computer science.
Chapter. 3
Creating "Computing, Design, and Pedagogy"
When I arrived at Barnard College with a new-found passion for computer science, I was certain I would major in it. I was wrong.
After Kode With Klossy, I thought the transition into studying computer science would be perfect. Kode With Klossy and Barnard pride themselves on cultivating a similar learning ethos. Predominantly women and nonbinary students, small classes, supportive, encouraging, accessible. The only problem was that the computer science program at Barnard had only been started two years prior and didn’t offer any introductory computer science courses of its own, so prospective majors had to take all their introductory classes at Columbia’s School for Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS).
Chapter. 4
Returning to Sleepaway Camp
When I came back on staff at my childhood sleepaway camp the summer after my sophomore year of college, the building blocks of my teaching career began to fall into place.
My sleepaway camp has always been a place where I could be myself, where children are able to strip the “school versions” of themselves and relax into their more natural summer selves.
My first year on staff was the summer after my sophomore year of college. At this point, my special major in Computing, Design, and Pedagogy had been approved and I knew education was for sure somewhere in my future, I just didn’t yet quite know where.
Chapter. 5
Exploring Child Development and Education in Denmark
I never planned on studying abroad, but spending 5 months in Denmark turned out to be transformative for the beginning of my teaching career.
I never planned on studying abroad because I was under the impression that STEM majors “don’t have time.” A few weeks after the deadline to apply to study abroad passed, I realized that one of the biggest points of creating my own major was so that I could do college academics on my own terms. If I wanted to study abroad, I absolutely should.
Chapter. 6
Pursuing an MSEd in Childhood Special & General Education
I graduated college wanting to be a public school teacher. It only made sense to begin pursuing my Master’s degree.
After wrapping up at Barnard, I got on a flight to return to Denmark to go visit my host family and my former practicum students. As soon as I came back to the US, I headed straight to camp for my third summer on staff. When I finally got back to Brooklyn, it was Fall and time to take the next step in my teaching career.
Chapter. 7
Back Home, Teaching in Brooklyn
Of all the full-circle moments in my teaching journey, none have been more fitting than returning to Brooklyn to teach at a public school in my own neighborhood.
My first year in the classroom was fantastic. I never thought waking up at 6:20 every morning would be worth it, but pursuing this career path is.
