1. How do you bring real STEM challenges to life for your students?  

I bring STEM to life by giving students opportunities to create, investigate, and solve problems. As an elementary librarian, I work with students in kindergarten through sixth grade, connecting STEAM and computer science with the questions they explore in their classrooms. Our robotics progression grows with them, from KIBO and Bee-Bot in the primary grades to Ozobot, LEGO SPIKE, and micro:bit programming with birdbrain Finch robots in the upper grades.

I’m especially excited about our upcoming partnership with AFOSR and our Military Kids Club. Students will explore bioinspired design after learning about current scientific research, develop their own projects, display them at our school science night, and share them with researchers. It’s an opportunity to connect children’s curiosity with scientists asking real questions.

2. What led you to your current role? Have you always been interested in teaching?  

I wasn’t always interested in teaching, but I’ve always been curious and loved learning. I initially attended an engineering school, but I struggled at the time. I eventually found my way to art education and spent seven years teaching elementary art before becoming the school librarian.

In 2019, a grant helped bring STEAM and computer science opportunities to our school and others in our area. Helping that work grow in the library brought me back to my earlier interests in technology. It also showed me how the library could give every student those foundational experiences as part of their school day. 

That work is personal to me. I want students to have the foundational experiences I wish I’d had when I was younger. Giving them opportunities to figure out how something works and discover that they can succeed can make something unfamiliar feel within reach. The library has become a place where I can keep learning alongside my students while helping them discover interests of their own.

3. What is your favorite classroom resource that you love to share with your students? What memorable lessons or activities have you been able to carry out using this resource? 

One of my favorite classroom resources is our collection of BirdBrain Technologies Finch robots. In our fourth grade robot choreography project, students use Microsoft MakeCode for micro:bit to program the robots to repeat dance moves, learning about loops along the way. To introduce the project, I show clips of Don Cornelius and Soul Train.

When else do I get to introduce elementary students to the amazing music and rich cultural history of Soul Train? I love bringing that piece of history into a computer science lesson. Students then program their own robot dance line, putting loops to work in a way they can actually see. The project brings my background in art into my work as a librarian, and it’s a lesson I look forward to teaching.

4. What is the best part about your job? 

The best part of my job is that I get to work with every student in our school. I believe all students should have access to STEAM and computer science during the school day, and the library gives me a place to make that happen. Alongside access to books, students have regular opportunities to explore the engineering design process and computer science principles.

Working with every grade also means I get to know students and their families over many years. I watch children grow from kindergarten through sixth grade and often teach their siblings, too. Those relationships help me create learning experiences that connect students across grade levels.

One example is our bilingual book project. Sixth graders wrote and designed Mandarin-English books, using generative AI to create illustrations while learning about responsible use and attribution. They read their finished books to first grade buddies, and we added the books to our library collection. I love that students can walk into the library and find a book made by someone they know or see a younger child enjoying a book they created. 

5. Can you please share a little about one of your awards and how it impacted you professionally and personally?  

An award I’m especially proud of is the 2026 Virginia Association of School Librarians' (VAASL) Ignite Award, which recognized our Mandarin Bilingual Book Buddies project. I collaborated with our Chinese teacher and a first grade teacher as sixth graders created bilingual Mandarin-English books. Students learned about book design and used generative AI to create illustrations, with instruction in responsible use and attribution. They then read their books to first grade buddies, and we added the finished books to our library collection.

Professionally, the award gave me an opportunity to share this work with other librarians through a presentation at the 2026 VAASL Annual Conference. Preparing to share the project has helped me reflect on the collaboration that made it possible and how other librarians could adapt it for their own schools. Personally, teaching book design brought me back to my roots in art education and graphic design. It was especially rewarding to see students use those skills alongside the Mandarin they had learned through their elementary years to create books for younger children. Having their bilingual books become part of our library collection gave their work a purpose beyond a classroom assignment.