Young girl on a bicycle with a green Hello Kitty basket. The girl is wearing a blue top and white skirt and is squinting looking into the camera.
On my bike outside of my pre-Katrina house in Chalmette
A girl and her father on a couch in a FEMA trailer. The father is lovingly holding his daughter, who has clearly outgrown his lap.
My dad and me when we moved into our FEMA trailer post-Katrina
Woman with brown hair wearing a green skirt and black top stands in front of a green bulletin board
My first day teaching at OPPA
Group of girls standing together. Some are wearing race bibs and yellow t-shirts that read "Heart and Sole."
GOTR Spring 2025 Heart & Sole team

About Me

Growing up in Chalmette, Louisiana, school was not just a place to learn; it was a refuge. When I was ten years old, I lost my home in Hurricane Katrina. Amidst the chaos of displacement and living in a FEMA trailer, the classroom–even one inside a trailer or a half-gutted building–remained a constant in my life. The classroom has always been a place of normalcy, safety, and structure. It was a place where curiosity was rewarded, and I could imagine a future different from my present reality.

However, as I grew older, I realized that the safety and opportunities I found in school were not equally accessible to everyone. I saw my dad, a smart and capable man, struggle to help me with algebra homework because his own education had been limited to a system that failed him. Later, I missed out on a writing program based in NYC as a sophomore in high school simply because my family could not afford it.

After working my way through my undergraduate degree from the University of New Orleans in secondary education, I moved to Michigan to begin my teaching career. Teaching in Title I schools has shown me that education has power, but only when it is accessible, further cementing my belief that being poor should never mean learning is out of reach. This led me to the MALXD program at Michigan State University.

Today, my work is dedicated to recreating that sense of safety for my students. I aim to provide not only emotional security but also the assurance that they have the tools they need to succeed. This commitment extends outside of the classroom where I am a Coach for Girls on the Run Detroit, and I work to build confidence and community for middle school girls, teaching them that they are capable of doing hard things.

Whether I am coaching girls to complete a 5k, creating mobile-friendly Articles of the Week for students without home computers, or prototyping curriculum for adult learners, my goal is to remove the friction that keeps people from learning. I worked my way through college at the University of New Orleans to break the cycle of poverty for myself; now, I am using my Master’s degree to design inclusive and intentional learning opportunities for others.

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