Professional

About Carmen

My husband and I moved to Washington about 15 years ago.  I grew up in Portland, OR and went to College down in the Bay Area.  Since relocating here in the Evergreen State, we have been blessed with three beautiful children -the joy of our lives.  Recently we moved out into the country side of Carnation.   I love its slower pace, rustic farms, and foggy mountain back drop. In my free time, you can usually catch me either somewhere along the Snoqualmie Valley Trail or piecing a quilt on my living room floor.  

 

 Interest and Experience in Education

I have always wanted to serve people and contribute to society in a positive way.  At one point, I thought that medicine would be the avenue in which I fulfilled this desire. So, I took those chemistry and biology courses.  I studied and passed that MCAT exam and finally began my training! 

Well, sometimes life throws us curve balls.  It turned out, medicine was not the right fit for me and my young family.  After a few years of parenting, I realized that I did not want a career that kept me so far from my family.  I wanted to do something that allowed me to make a lasting positive impact on the lives of others without compromising what I believe to be my primary responsibility, the education and nurturing of the children God entrusted to me.

 I soon began to look in other directions.  I started as a parent volunteer with increasing responsibilities within my children’s own school.  I then ventured out into a less familiar public school as a Bellevue School District Volunteer.  Finally, I decided to take on a full time role in a small private school teaching 4^th and 5^th graders English and Language Arts. As I started to interact with so many children from so many different back grounds and as I had the opportunity to form relationships and affect hearts, I fell in love with teaching.

In the Fall, God willing, I will be teaching Middle School students both Science and Social Studies.  My intended endorsement is Biology and later down the line I hope to add both general science and social studies to my repertoire.  I have chosen to focus on middle school age students because this is such a critical time in the lives of everyone of us.  It is when children begin to see themselves change into young adults both physically and mentally.  As an educator, it is my hope to have a positive impact on that change.

So, although my path has taken many directions, it has finally lead me to what I believe was my true purpose all along –Teaching. I saw through my experience in the classroom that as a teacher, I have the ability to truly brighten a child’s outlook on life.  What an awesome power this is!  The gift of lifting the spirits, inculcating confidence and encouraging my students to truly become learners themselves is an invaluable one.  I feel honored to have found my way to such a noble profession, that of an educator.