Ms. Smith was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, however shortly after she moved to Paris, France for her father’s work. She went to an American school in Paris when she was 4 years old, and she moved back to the states when she was 8. Ms. Smith moved to Saint Louis, Missouri which is what she considers her home. She received her undergraduate degree “in the middle of nowhere in Iowa,'' and then moved to Washington D.C. for her graduate degree.
Ms. Smith and her family in Paris, France. (Photo provided by Ms. Smith)
She moved to Hawai'i because of her job at Parker School. She realized that she could teach English anywhere in the world, so she thought “Well why not Hawaii?” Ms. Smith did like living in D.C., but it was expensive and she felt surrounded by politics. After deciding that the city wasn't for her, she moved to Hawai'i. She originally only planned on staying for one year; however, after she moved out here she loved it.
Ms. Smith at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. (Photo provided by Ms. Smith)
Before wanting to be a teacher, Ms. Smith knew she wanted to be surrounded by books. Originally she thought she would end up being a librarian or a publisher. She loved the idea of being able to share her books with her students. She first started teaching for her love of school and literature, however there was more than that behind her decision. Ms. Smith wanted to be in a place where students could talk and borrow books. She loved learning and wanted to teach other people to love it as well. Initially, Ms. Smith wanted to be a college professor, but later figured out that she would rather teach younger students such as middle and high schoolers.
While she has taught at other schools before, Parker School was the first one to give her a classroom of her own. She used to work as a TA (teacher's assistant) at Georgetown University, the school she went to for graduate school. She was also a substitute teacher in the Washington D.C. public school system. This is the first school where she teaches for herself instead of subbing or helping another teachers.
Some fun facts about Ms. Smith are: She has two dogs who live in Saint Louis with her mom. One is named Lola and the other is named Louie; both of them are gorgeous black dogs. She has two cats named Junie and Walter. One is a tuxedo cat and the other is a brown tabby.
Ms. Smith and her cat. (Photo provided by Ms. Smith)
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