Q: Is this your first year teaching?

A: Yeah, so it’s very exciting.

Q: What classes are you teaching this year?

A: German 4 for one class at Naperville Central and one at Naperville North.

Q: Where are you originally from?

A: I’m from Germany… A small town in Northwestern Germany. It’s called Holler. It’s not very well known. 

Q: Did you go to college in Germany?

A: Yes, I did. I went to the University of Bielefeld. I also went to the University of Minnesota for a year, but then I went back to Germany and got my bachelor’s.

Q: How did you end up teaching in the United States?

A: Oh, it’s a long story, but my husband is American. So that’s how I ended up settling here, so to say.

Q: Do you have any interests or hobbies outside of teaching?

A: Yes, I do. I can’t say I’m able to do all of them right now, but I love riding my bike. I love reading novels, and I used to sing in a choir but I’m not in one right now. I love music, classical music. I love other music, too, but I’m not always on top of all the new songs that come out.

Q: What appealed to you most about teaching German?

Since I’m not in Germany, in my home country, I just love sharing it with young kids here and I love that they are interested in learning German since it’s my heritage and native language. It’s fun to share that with the school and I’ve always loved foreign languages. I studied French as well and used to teach French, but my French is not that good anymore. It’s getting a little rusty.

Q: Before we finish, is there anything else you would like to add?

A: I guess so far I really enjoy working with my classes. Very nice kids and very nice colleagues. It’s a nice school to be in and to teach in.