When I was a teenager, a distant cousin from Canada visited my family in our small town in Southern Germany. I decided then that I, too, wanted to see the world and spend time abroad. I traveled to many countries and, while studying German and history at the University of Stuttgart, became an exchange student at Oregon State University in Corvallis, where I graduated with a MA degree and met my eventual husband. A year later I was back at Portland State University as teaching assistant instructing First Year German, and discovered how much fun it is to teach the language.

The next few years we lived in Germany where I finished my liberal arts degrees before settling in the US in 1991. We have been living in Hillsboro and Beaverton ever since, raising our three children bilingually.

I have been active in my children’s schools, volunteering as well as teaching art and German lessons. For years, I taught Beginning German classes at Tualatin Hills Park and Recreation. In my classes, I stress speaking and lively role-play to enable students to get along in a German environment. Being a history lover, I also enjoy sharing German history and culture, letting myself be guided by the interests of the class. I met many wonderful, interesting people, and more than once we continued German classes in a German restaurant.

Currently, I work as an Instructional Assistant in the Beaverton schools, and I am teaching two German classes for adults.