Please tell us a bit about yourself and your family.
I grew up in Audubon PA near King of Prussia. I am an only child. I graduated from Methacton- class of 1998. I went to Duquesne University in Pittsburg and got my Bachelors of Science and music ed. I was really lucky because right out of college I landed a job teaching at Council Rock. That was the year that Council Rock South opened. I took over for the music director who was moving over to CR South. So 22 years ago I walked into my first job teaching elementary education and middle school strings. I have been in 2 of the same buildings for the last 22 years. Now I live in Holland with my husband Keith and our 2 boys, Brian and Greg. My husband is the music coordinator for council rock and the band director at Newtown Middle school. Our son Brian is about to be an 11th grader at Council Rock South and Greg is at Holland Middle school. Brian played trumpet until this year and Greg plays the Cello. I get to have my younger son Greg in my orchestra at school. We also have our beloved St. Bernard, Lucy.
Gregory plays travel soccer for CRUSA and CRBA in-house basketball. Brian has played basketball and baseball throughout most of his life. He is playing baseball with a team in Warrington now called the All Stars. I am a runner so I do a lot of local 5k’s and stuff like that. I am training for my 5th marathon right now that takes place in Berlin, Germany.
Keith and I met right after I got hired at my Council Rock job. It was teacher in-service day. My husband always says that he found me more interesting than getting the dent out of a tuba, which is what we were learning to do at the time. Over the course of a few months we really hit it off and started dating on Valentine’s day. A few months later we were engaged and got married a year later. We will celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary this year.
Please tell us about your current, past, or future career.
I work at Hillcrest Elementary and Holland Middle School. I teach orchestra for grades 3-8. When I was 4 my mom wanted me to learn to play piano. I told her no, I would rather play the violin. She was shocked I even knew what the violin was at 4 years old. I was a lover of Sesame Street and there was a violinist named Itzhak Perlman. He is one of the best violinists in the world. He was featured on Sesame Street and I decided after hearing him play that I wanted to play as well. I started taking lessons at 4. I played all through school. I did band and choir in middle school; in high school I focused on orchestra and choir with violin always being my main focus. In college I majored in music education and fell in love with the idea of being an orchestra director. I have known since I was little that music is what I wanted to do, but I am constantly surprised by all that it has become. It does not feel like a job to me.
What do you love most about what you do?
I think I am probably one of the luckiest teachers in the district because I get to work with so many wonderful students. Our music students are just incredible. I also often get to teach whole families through the years and I think it is so fun! I conduct the honors orchestra which means I get to work with kids from all over the Council Rock Elementary schools. It gives me the unique opportunity to get to meet even more kids and impart the love of music to them.
What are some of your favorite restaurants in the community?
We love El Barrio. The food is so authentic there. Bacco and Almshouse are a couple of other favorites.
Where is your favorite place you have traveled and what is next on your list?
My favorite place is Poland. I visited with my family when I was 13 and just fell in love with it. Poland is also the place I would love to go back to someday and take my husband. He is part Polish and would love to visit. It has been 30 years for me so I would love to go back and see the progress that has been made there. The last time I was there the Berlin Wall had just come down, so a lot has changed since then.
What is one of your favorite movies? TV shows?
I always say that I was born 2 decades too late and that is especially true with my entertainment. My favorite shows are from the 60’s and 70’s. I love Get Smart, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and The Partridge Family. If I had to pick a favorite movie it would be the Gene Wilder Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.
What advice would you give to people?
Just let people be who they are. Let them express themselves and be who they want to be. My students in orchestra feel safe in our environment because they can be whoever they want to be. If we could have that everywhere, our world would be so different.
What is something on your bucket list?
I really want to complete all 6 major world marathons. I will have done 2 by the end of this year. I ran Chicago last year and will be doing Berlin later this year.
What is your favorite band or music genre?
Again, having been born 2 decades too late, I love 60’s and 70’s music. The Carpenters are one of my all time favorites. I also love disco music and have a disco ball in my classroom.
If you could choose anyone dead or alive to have lunch with; with whom would you love to have lunch? Why? And where locally would y’all meet for this lunch?
I would go to lunch with Bert Bachrach. He is, in my opinion, one of the best composers of pop music. I was fortunate to get to see him in concert many times while he was alive. I am just in awe of him. We would have to eat somewhere with a piano so he could sit down and play. Wherever that needs to be.
Where do you see yourself in 5 to 10 years?
I believe I will still be teaching at Holland Middle School and Hillcrest Elementary. I am so happy where I am and hope to still be living in Holland and teaching in 5-10 years.
What is something interesting that even your friends or family may not know about you?
I was born with a congenital heart defect. When I was born I was given a 1% chance of living. A lot of people don’t know this is a struggle I have had. It was huge for me to go through school, college, a career and now run a marathon. All of these defied the odds that I was given at birth. When I was younger I wasn’t allowed to play contact sports. I have had 2 open heart surgeries. It has been a journey, but I am so happy to be where I am today. A lot of people know I run but are shocked to learn I have a heart defect. There is also the other side, where people who know I have a heart defect and are shocked to learn that I run. Both of these things define me in a way because they are a huge part of who I am. I probably wouldn’t have started running if I did not have the heart defect. Even though it is something that could have brought me down, it has done so much for me.
What is your favorite holiday and why?
I love Christmas. I love Christmas because of the music and the joy on people’s faces throughout the season. The Christmas season is just a happy time of year for people. I love how people go out of their way for each other. It is not about the gifts, it is about showing people your appreciation for them. I also love Christmas lights. I will drive around forever looking at them. Christmas is also a special time of year for my students. They practice their holiday music for months and this is the time that they finally get to present it to their loved ones. They get so excited about that and it brings so much joy to my heart.
What are one or two of your favorite smells?
Coconut and pumpkin… maybe even a combination of both.
What words or phrases come to mind when you think of the word HOME?
Comfortable and happy.
