My Life’s JourneyThe road of life twists and turns and no two directions are ever the same. Yet our lessons come from the journey, not the destination. Don Williams Jr.

Moshi, Tanzania, East Africa

Born in Africa

I was born in a small town with two streets parallel to each other: Dusty dirt roads, corn fields, bean fields, springs with crystal clear water, mosquitoes, one school, one neighborhood…with the slopes of Kilimanjaro as my oasis

• Elementary school: local schools that the British left behind and we faithfully continued

• Secondary school: Founder student for the school built by Irvin Mortenson [father of the author of “Three Cups of Tea”, Greg Mortenson]

• I had teachers from all over the world, from Australia to the United States

• Why is this important? my foundation was colorful, strong and memorable

British EducationMoshi, Tanzania, East Africa

The Influence from Montessori

• I couldn’t get a college education due to political and cultural constraints

• My choices: a nurse or a teacher

• I chose a teacher – my mother was a teacher

• Montessori’s philosophies meshed with mine and I made them mine when I became the administrator for a k-3 school that I attended when I was 3

Moshi Kindergarten• Built the school and connected us to the

local schools, making us a collaborative educational community

• Personally and physically renovated the building: painted murals that were synchronized with the landscapes and history of the town; designed an outdoor stage for theater; created a landscape with the school staff and children, and by the school staff and children

• We were the first school that dared to teach children with special needs: they taught us and we taught them

Kenya• Curriculum design and helping colleagues understand learning is a two-

way traffic highway became my calling• Created strong literacy and mathematical foundations for all students• Developed science kits for k-12 which evolved into working with a

colleague designing and implementing a science handbook for teachers to understand and perform more effective laboratory exercises for students

• Established a school band from 3 participants to 24. Personally wrote the music and transposed the music to incorporate harmony

• Wrote custom-made plays that were appropriate for our students pulling together diverse cultures and the geo-dynamics of the country

• Participated in the development of the Nairobi Museum inaugurating the African-Indian [people of India] section

• Participated in several charities in several ways• Received my first degree while married into a joint family and being the

proud mother of two children

United States• Received my second degree and now my third• The dots began to connect: my educational

experiences and philosophies were given a theoretical framework by which I was practicing

• My learning ‘curve’ was a straight line in a positive direction

• My work ethic allowed me to be given a wide variety of experiences because I built trust among my colleagues and administrators

• My humorous side found a home• My creative side took a leave of absence as I

focused on family, career and just taking in the new country

Whatever we think about and think about we bring about - John Demartini

Shaping my career through pure experiences

My early exposure to individuals with challenges• My father changed one

man’s life [the town ‘fool’] simultaneously teaching me how to be cognizant of people’s differences: ‘Everyone has a gift – find it’

• His funeral had so many individuals with challenges thanking my mother – of whom we knew none: They were all his ‘sons’ and ‘daughters’

• My mother made me do community service every evening and most weekends at an orphanage and thalidomide-victim home run by missionaries. She too volunteered her time and money

• Her funeral had all her ‘sons’ and ‘daughters’ thanking us for giving them a second chance in life

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Share my experiences through academia, professional and where appropriate personal.Teach my experiences as tools to better teach any student

My Final Calling