BIO
I am originally from Charleston, SC. I grew up on James Island with my mom and dad, the oldest child with two brothers and one sister. My parents always emphasized the arts - my mother played the piano, made crafts, and sewed many of our clothes. My father played saxophone in a jazz combo. We were all encouraged to learn about and participate in the arts - we took piano lessons, dance classes, theatre workshops, sang in choirs, played in the band and orchestra, took art lessons. The arts were accepted as vital to our lives. After high school, I began to attend the College of Charleston, originally majoring in sociology, then transferring to early childhood education. I met and married a Citadel cadet who later became a Marine and we moved to Jacksonville, NC. We were married for 45 years until he passed away in 2023. We have three children: Nicholas, Adrianne, and Alexis. All of my children are college graduates, in fact, all three have masters degrees, and all work in the fields they studied. My children's success reflects the emphasis my husband and I placed on learning, education, and work ethic. We also made sure to emphasize the arts - all of my children learned to play musical instruments and played in the school band. The girls also took dance lessons and all were encouraged to make art. We live in Swansboro, NC with our three dachshunds, Oliver, Charley and Emmett.
I began teaching Art in Onslow County in 1991. I worked at White Oak High School from 1995 until my retirement in 2019. I am a National Board Certified Teacher. I am also the Past-President of the North Carolina Art Educators Association. I served on the NC Senate Joint Legislative Select Study Committee on Arts Education in North Carolina Public Schools and was named NC Art Educator of the Year in 2009. I was named 2019 Onslow County Arts Educator of the Year. Upon my retirement in 2019, I was the proud recipient of the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, the highest award for state service granted by the Governor of North Carolina. I also served a term of office as the Southeastern Region Vice-President for the National Art Education Association.
In the summer of 1999, I took my first online course - something about Art and Technology given through UNC Greensboro. That experience was very exciting and motivating for me. In 2001, I began the Masters of Art in Art Education program at East Carolina University ALL ONLINE! I became very interested in how people learn online and how to teach online. When I completed that degree, I was given the opportunity to try it myself. I began to teach Art Appreciation for East Carolina University and Pamlico Community College. I also began a second masters degree ONLINE, a Masters of Science in Instructional Technology (in other words how to teach online). I completed that degree in December 2004. I have taken well over 60 online courses myself and have lost count of the number of sections I have taught. I completed my doctorate in Instructional Technology and Distance Education through Nova Southeastern University .
I have been truly blessed in my pursuits. My passions are travel, art, art history, my family, and my dachshunds - not necessarily in that order!