Welcome! I am very excited to be a Southmoore SaberCat this year. It feels like after a decade of searching for the perfect job for me I have finally found it. 

I grew up on a small family-owned cow-calf operation in Amber, Okla. Agriculture was a way of life and in my blood (7th generation farmer). Naturally, I sought a career in the agricultural field. I attended Oklahoma State University's Agricultural Communications program and received my bachelor's degree in December 2007. Love swept me away to Olathe, Kan., and I began my career in journalism as an assistant editor for the Angus Journal in Saint Joseph, Mo. A year and a half later, I stayed home to have my first baby, Ella. But I continued my work in journalism as a freelance writer and edtior of the Hereford World magazine out of Kansas City, Mo. Eventually, my family and I missed our Oklahoma families too much so we decided to move back "home". My husband took a job as an electrical engineer at Tinker AFB and I began my own freelance photography business, TP Photography. I loved the opportunity to stay home with my kids and still be able to write, edit, and shoot pictures at my will. 

Of course, being a single income family was no fun. Therefore, I decided to go back to work. I took a part-time job working for OUR365 Newborn Photography shooting newborn photos in hospitals. That was a commission only job and lots of fun. But my family needed more. I had a friend from high school working at Tate Publishing in Mustang, Okla. I took a shot and landed a project manager position there. It was such fun to help young (and old) budding authors make their dreams come true by helping oversee production of their manuscript into a beautiful book. Over time, the production department in the US became smaller and smaller and the production team in the Philippines became larger and larger, but I found my niche... teaching someone how to do what I can do. It was then I discovered I harbor a passion and love for teaching. 

So, I didn't become a teacher the normal route. It took me a while to figure out what I wanted to be "when I grew up." But that is OK. Never let your dreams hold you back. So what if it took me almost 10 years to discover my calling. I have a lengthy resume and a lot of "experience" in lots of fields. I have memories and stories that will last me a lifetime and friends I have met through every step of the way. I wouldn't have changed my path. 

My goal as a teacher here at Southmoore is to be a great role model for the students, bring out the best in my students and coworkers, and have the best time of my life doing what I love.