I was born and raised in Horry County in the small town of Aynor, about 30 minutes from Myrtle Beach, SC. I was fortunate to come up in a Christian home with supportive and nurturing parents. I have been married to the love of my life since 1998 and have been blessed with two amazing kids. I am a pronounced Christian who truly believes that Jesus Christ is my personal savior and that with God, all things are possible.
As for my professional life...
I have been immersed in technology since my first semester in college back in the fall of 1993. Having little experience with computers or technology beyond the basic typewriter or word processors of the past (remember those!), I was a little intimidated when I sat in front of a computer in my student workstudy job working for the Dean of Education. Here I was thinking...what if I do something to blow this? What if I break the mouse? This is such a great job, and I know nothing about a computer. Needless to say, I was a bundle of nerves those first few days.
That feeling quickly dissipated. As I used computers more often, I found that I had a real love for them. I was mostly interested in the software applications, but I wanted to know as much as possible. I can remember that between copying, filing and answering phones, I would read an MS-DOS manual from cover to cover like the latest John Grisham novel. I literally could not wait to flip the page to learn something new. This love continued through my undergraduate studies in English literature. Because of this love of technology and my new-found desire to research everything of interest to me, I decided to pursue an MLIS from USC. You might ask what that is exactly. It is a Masters in Library and Information Science. I discovered that school librarians were no longer tied to a desk checking out books. The new role involved acting as the technology leader throughout the school, learning about all the new technology gadgets and software apps available and teaching those to teachers and students. I personally knew one of the youngest upcoming school library media specialists in our county and had the opportunity to learn a lot under her tutelage. With this career, I had the love of literature, research and technology combined into one. How much better could it get?
Although this career was an ideal choice for my interests, family obligations demanded more. After eight years as a school library media specialist, I decided to spend a few years at home. I had already been a videographer for several years, doing events on weekends and taking on many summer video projects, so this was the ideal career to pursue part-time from the comforts of home while on hiatus.
Enjoying many interesting projects through the years and editing with a baby in my arms for hours on end, a favorable circumstance presented itself at Coastal Carolina University. I began teaching as adjunct faculty in the Department of Computer Science back in the Spring of 2008, teaching what we refer to as service courses or non-major courses. These classes covered everything from Microsoft Office applications like Excel and PowerPoint to Mobile Computing and beyond. This opportunity was a Godsend. Teaching at Coastal was a most rewarding experience with so little stress. It was great to wake up in the morning energized and ready to interact with so many amazing students.
In the Fall of 2010, I was blessed to move, once more, into an amazing position as an elementary school media specialist at Aynor Elementary School with Horry County Schools. It was great to be back at home in a school library. AES has so many great teachers, students and parents, and it is a blessing to go to work each day surrounded by smiling faces. My favorite part would have to be the many hugs, which was something rarely experienced when teaching older students, and I am still at AES at the present.
Through all of my experiences, I have a tremendous amount of technology-related knowledge I would like to share. While many enjoy watching tv for pleasure, I enjoy surfing the web for the latest tech tips and tools, as well as reading for pleasure on my Nook Color!! And let's not forget Sudoku! Hopefully, you will visit this blog and find something that will help you become more successful in your tech endeavors. Happy browsing!
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| The Family @ Epcot- Walt Disney World in Fall 2011 |
