I discovered my calling as an educator in my adolescent years; I loved working with other people and communication came easily to me. In university, I studied East Asian Languages and Cultures in search of my Chinese-American heritage, and I minored in Psychology to explore my interest in human behavior.  After receiving my Bachelor of Arts degree from Barnard College, an undergraduate women's college of Columbia University, I decided to pursue further studies in the field of education.

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I was selected to join the Teach For America program whose mission was to work towards educational equity. During my two year commitment to an under-resourced public school in New York City, I also studied full-time for my Masters of Science for Teachers at Pace University's School of Education and became certified in Middle Childhood Education (Grades 5-9) as a Generalist and Specialist. My studies translated directly into work experience as my paraprofessional and I taught a bridge class of twelve Grade 6-8 students with a variety of cognitive and behavioral needs. They also came from difficult home situations which made their learning even more challenging. As it was my first experience teaching students with special needs, the urgency and the importance of this work struck me, and it became my mission to be an advocate for differently abled students and their families.

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Read more about my pedagogical philosophy here.