A brief narrative of my journey toward academia

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I grew up in Mount Vernon, New York—just outside the Bronx—where my earliest understandings of education were shaped by community, perseverance, and the transformative power of teachers who saw potential where others might not. Education quickly became both my passion and my purpose. I pursued my teacher preparation at the University of Connecticut, one of the nation’s premier schools of education, where I learned the foundations of rigorous, reflective, and compassionate teaching. Over the years I have joyfully, proudly taught both middle and high school in the Bronx, NY, Springfield, MA, and New Haven, CT. 

 

My journey then took me to the Berkshires, where I completed an administrative licensure program at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts. It was there that mentors recognized my commitment to curriculum and philosophy in education and encouraged me to pursue a Ph.D.—a lifelong dream that would allow me to merge scholarship, social justice, and pedagogy.

 

Earning my doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction at Texas A&M University fulfilled that dream. More than a degree, it represents my family’s hopes, my students’ stories, and my belief in education as both a personal calling and a collective responsibility. I love all things education—researching, teaching, and learning—and I find my greatest joy in the classroom, where knowledge becomes shared, lived, and transformative.