In early Spring of 1998, I was sitting in my senior education seminar at Trinity College of Vermont listening to Sr. Marianne Reade, Superintendent of Vermont Catholic Schools, talking about the two new Catholic schools due to open later that fall; The Bishop John A. Marshall School in Morrisville and Good Shepherd in St. Johnsbury. While I had every intention of graduating in a few weeks and staying in Chittenden County, something clicked inside me while listening to her and I decided to apply to both schools. The fact of the matter was, I needed a teaching job after graduation! To my surprise, a few weeks later, I was sitting in a principal’s office having an interview with our founding Head of School Bruce Batchelder. I graduated from Trinity College with Bachelors degrees in Early Childhood Education and Psychology and soon after I received a letter from Mr. Batchelder announcing I was the school’s new second grade teacher.
For 19 years I was the school’s only second grade teacher. It was an amazing journey that took me from rummaging in a barn for new desks for the very first day of school in 1998 to teaching and working with over 200 children and families. In 2007, I also took on the role of Lower School Division Head. This had me assisting the Head of School and acting as a liaison between the Pre-K through grade four faculty and students. My role as division head grew as did my love for working in administration. In the spring of 2017, as the needs of the school changed, it was decided that I would leave my dear classroom and take on the role of Vice Principal and Director of Enrollment. While it was incredibly difficult to leave my classroom, I enjoy serving the whole school.
I like to think that I’ve grown up with BJAMS as I’ve spent most of my adult life as part of the school. I have become engaged, married, and had two children all while teaching here. BJAMS has become part of my family and a large part of who I am. Working here has taught me a great deal.
When I’m not at school you can usually find me in my great big house nestled on five acres of woods and state forest in Berlin. My husband, Eric, and I have two kids, John Tor and Emily (BJAMS class of 2017 and 2022). I love to cook and eat good food (I am a self-proclaimed “foodie”!) and probably spend most of my spare time in the kitchen! In the summer, we spend most of our time at our camp along the banks of the Connecticut River in North Haverhill, NH. There we enjoy cooking, barbequing, and smoking more food than can feed a small army which we love to enjoy with our many friends there. It is here that I re-energize for another fun-filled year of learning at BJAMS!
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Education
B.A. Elementary Ed., Trinity College;
B.A. Psychology, Trinity College
