About Me
My language learning
journey began at East Columbus High School in Lake Waccamaw, North Carolina. I started Spanish 1 during the 10th grade and went on through level 4. I was a “nerd” who liked most school subjects, but there was something fascinating about the idea of learning another language that immediately hooked me.
Photo: My high school Spanish teacher (“Señorita Gullion” at the time) and I.
I always knew I
wanted to be a teacher. I attended UNC Chapel Hill as a NC Teaching Fellow Scholar, which would require me to teach in a public school in North Carolina for at least four years. However, everything didn’t end up as planned. Instead of becoming a math teacher (which was my original goal), I ended up falling even more in love with languages. I eventually obtained a double major in Linguistics and Romance Languages (Spanish with a little Portuguese along the way.)
Photo: UNC-CH class of 2001!
My teaching career
began at Chapel Hill High School in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. I ended up staying with the same district for nine years, teaching Spanish levels 1 through AP and English as a second language. I also directed the district’s Academy of International Studies and organized several study abroad trips to such countries as China, Mexico, and Spain.
Photo: Teacher workday before the beginning of my first year as a teacher. I promise I was more excited about teaching than I appear in the photo!
For some reason
I decided that I was not yet ready to leave student life behind. So, while continuing to work as a full-time high-school teacher, I decided to spend my evenings as a doctoral student at UNC Chapel Hill. In 2011, I received a doctorate degree in Curriculum and Instruction. My dissertation focused on teachers’ perceptions and practices in teaching Spanish to both heritage language learners and L2 learners.
Photo: UNC-CH class of 2001 2011! I still look the same as in the graduation photo above, right??
After receiving my
doctorate, I worked as an assistant and associate professor of Spanish and Education at the University of North Carolina-Wilmington. I’m currently an assistant professor of World Language Education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. My teaching and research focus on heritage language learners of Spanish and issues of social justice and critical pedagogy in language education and teacher preparation.
Photo: Some shots of UW-Madison I took while out for a late summer stroll. I love the beauty of the campus and lakes.
In my free time
I enjoy spending time with my lovely wife (Davida) and daughter (Vada). I also enjoy language learning (I’m currently trying my hand at Japanese), watching horror movies, reading horror and sci-fi novels, playing videogames and board games, running, biking, being bad at team sports (I daydream too much during key moments), and engaging with my church and community. And, of course, I love to travel. So far, I’ve been to about 15 countries, and there are still many more on my list!
Photo: Me with my wife and daughter at our first UW-Madison football game.