I fell in love with classics as an undergraduate. During high school, I had taken a few Latin courses, and I had a genuine interest in the language (as a child, I had even attempted to teach myself Latin from a book, which didn't go so well, but clearly I had an attraction to Latin from an early age!), but it wasn't something I imagined myself pursuing in any serious way in higher education. In the first semester of my freshman year at college, however, due to a mix up with my schedule, I ended up in a Roman history course, and it transformed my world. I was entranced by both the subject matter and the teacher, and when the second semester came around, I made sure to sign up for as many classics courses as I could take. By sophomore year, I was learning ancient Greek and declaring my major in classics. I received my BA in Latin Language and Literature (with an undeclared minor in ancient Greek) from Oberlin College. 

During my senior year of college, I made the decision to apply to graduate school. By that time, I had decided that I wanted to share my excitement for the classical world by becoming a teacher, and given my passion for classics, I preferred to deepen my knowledge of the subject rather than to attend a master's of education program. I received a merit-based classics fellowship from the University of Virginia, from which I received my MA in Classics. 

I began my Latin teaching career as an undergraduate, when I was selected by Oberlin College's Department of Classics to teach a month-long, intensive Latin language course (six hours a day) for fellow undergraduates. This intensive course was intended to replace Latin 101 for students who could not fit the traditional, semester-long course in their schedule; those students who completed it were then eligible for the Latin 102 course. I also began my work as a Latin tutor during my time as an undergraduate. I have been a Latin language tutor for my entire adult life, and I have taught Latin language and literature courses on the college level at both Oberlin College and the University of Virginia. I also worked as a Latin teacher at a private school in Virginia for many years, and as such, I taught Latin language and literature courses (intro Latin all the way through AP Latin) for middle schoolers and upper schoolers; because the school gave teachers control over course curriculum, I structured my classes so that mythology, Roman history, and classical civilization played an integral role.