About Me

Family and Consumer Sciences teaches the skills students actually need: food and nutrition, financial literacy, human development, housing, textiles, consumer decisions, leadership, and career readiness. These are not elective luxuries. They are the decisions students face every day, and FCS is the one subject that addresses them directly.

FCS is not a subject from the past. It is the field that teaches students how to care for themselves, make informed decisions, support their families, and prepare for careers. My job as a future FCS teacher is to make that case clearly, every day, in every lesson.

My coursework covers the full breadth of FCS content: food and nutrition, financial literacy, human development, textiles, housing, and career readiness. Three field placements put that coursework into practice: a high school culinary lab, a county extension office serving four counties, and a middle school tutoring program. Each placement built a different layer of my teaching skill.

I stay connected to the profession through AAFCS, KAFCS, and KNEA Aspiring Educators. I hold leadership roles in all three. These are not resume lines. They are the networks and conversations that shape how I understand the field I am entering.

My leadership roles are part of my teaching preparation, not separate from it. As AAFCS Student Unit Chair-Elect, I represent student interests at the national level. As KNEA Aspiring Educators State Vice President, I advocate for pre-service teachers across Kansas and represented the state at the NEA Representative Assembly. Co-founding and leading FCCLA and the Pittsburg State Family and Consumer Sciences built the organizational, communication, and advising skills I will use as a future chapter adviser.

Journalism through The Collegio adds a different dimension. Writing, editing, interviewing, and managing advertising clients are the same communication skills that make a teacher effective: listening carefully, asking better questions, and explaining things clearly. That is exactly what good teaching requires.

After graduating from Pittsburg State, I will teach Family and Consumer Sciences at the secondary level in Kansas and advise an FCCLA chapter. I am building a classroom that takes FCS content seriously and gives students opportunities to lead, serve, and grow, not just consume information.

Long term, I will stay active in professional organizations, support other FCS educators, and contribute to advocacy for the field. FCS programs continue to face pressure and consolidation in schools. I am part of the work to protect, explain, and grow them.