I taught 9th grade English at Gainesville High School in Gainesville, Florida for five years. I did a little bit of everything in my time there: coaching debate, running professional learning communities, serving on the school advisory committee, and attempting to play basketball during the annual student-faculty basketball game (pictured here). I also served on the education committee for community group GNV4ALL, which was formed to address racial and economic inequities in Gainesville. My participation spurred my desire to learn more about public policy.

I come from a family of teachers and mentors. My mother was a pre-school teacher, my father sees mentorship as his paramount duty in his work, my brother and my grandmother teach (or taught) voice, and my grandfather taught medicine in Venezuela. I love teaching because its impact is exponential; every student I teach is another vector of positive impact and another potential teacher and mentor.