My Life

I attended Niagara High School in northern Wisconsin for my freshman and sophomore years. Then my family moved to Pennsylvania, and I attended Northampton Area High School in the Lehigh Valley for my junior and senior years and graduated in 1991.

I earned my bachelor of arts degree in English/communications from DeSales University (formerly Allentown College of St. Francis de Sales) in 1995. I continued my studies there on a part time basis and earned my Masters in Education in 1999. Because I enjoy learning and keeping up to date on the current trends in education, I have earned numerous additional graduate credits and continue to take graduate courses to increase my knowledge and make me a better teacher.  I have earned an additional 60 graduate credits beyond my M.Ed and also earned a Masters in Library Science from Kutztown University in May 2021. 

I worked at DeSales University in Trexler Library on a part-time basis since I was a freshman in August of 1991. I started through the work study program and continued on a part time basis as the university archvist for 30 years, retiring in summer of 2022.  

My first teaching job was at Reading Central Catholic High School where I taught 9th and 10th grade English, and I was the assistant yearbook advisor.

I have been at Hamburg since August of 1996, and I teach Publications, where the students produce the yearbook and school newspaper.  I am also the Gifted Education teacher at the high school. I am the adviser of the Leo Club and the Senior class and am in charge of faculty spirit days to collect money for various charities.   I am a member of the SAP team (student assistance program) and am vice president of the Hamburg Area Education Foundation. I took over the library at the start of the 2015 school year to make it a collaborative work area for teachers and students. 

In my spare time, I sell Avon and enjoy yoga, cooking, and gardening.  I married Than Wright, the HASD technology director, in June 2017 and now have six children, a granddaughter, a grandson, and daughter in law.  In 2016, we planted a vineyard at our house in Lenhartsville, and in November 2019, we opened Lucky Leprechaun Vineyard and Winery in Hamburg. This is our pre-retirement plan.

I love animals and have a 3 year old Border Collie/German Shepherd mix named Molly and a 7 year old German Shepherd, Wolfgang, who was a career change dog I raised/trained for The Seeing Eye in Morristown, New Jersey. I raised Spike from June 2018-September 2019, Seely from November 2019 to June 2021, and Paul from November 2021 - October 2022.  I now have Raphi, a black lab, and will have him until February 2024.  

I love traveling and took a group of 50 from Hamburg to England, Ireland, and Wales in June 2016; a group of 20 to Italy, France, and Spain in 2017; and a group of 32 to Germany, Austria, and Switzerland in 2019; a group of 13 to Greece in June 2023 and a group of 18 to Ireland & Scotland in July 2023.  Next up is Costa Rica in June 2024.  I also love Disney.