Profile

When I was 11, my parents took my brother and I on a tour of Turkey, Israel, and Jordan. It was then that I realized my love for travel and other cultures. I had the chance to study abroad in Egypt for a semester when I was an undergraduate. After I obtained my BA, I lived abroad for two years working in cram schools as an English teacher and studying Mandarin part-time. I wanted to improve my job prospects, so I returned to Oregon in 2008 to work on an MA in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) at Portland State University. My thesis concerned tutoring international students in their pronunciation, asking if reading aloud might be an appropriate technique for focused intonation practice. I also worked as a teaching assistant and instructor for Portland Community College teaching English to young adult immigrants while I worked on my MA. As a result of connections I made while working as a tour guide of sorts for visiting student groups from abroad while at Portland State, I landed a job working at an elementary school in the Xiangcheng district of Suzhou. After two years working there, I felt my on-the-job learning had plateaued, so I sought out a more challenging teaching environment in XJTLU.

I am proud to be a part of a growing international university. I enjoy imparting knowledge and wisdom to my students as I continue to reflect on and refine my teaching.

I currently serve as the Deputy Director for Years 2 to 4 in the English Language Centre (ELC).