About Grace
Hometown: Edinburg, OH
Degree: B.A. in Educational Studies and History; Minor in Women's and Gender Studies, Denison University 2022
Grace is excited to be a first-year TeachHouse Fellow as she works toward earning her Master of Arts in Teaching degree at Duke and secondary social studies licensure. Grace was born and raised in Edinburg, OH and later attended Denison University where she graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in Educational Studies, a B.A. in History, and a minor in Women's and Gender Studies. During her time at Denison, she was the president of club volleyball and was active in the campus community as a community advisor, orientation leader, and tutor. She was awarded the Distinguished Leadership Award and the Michael and Amy Gordon Award for excellence in history upon graduation.
Why did I decide to teach?
This year I am student teaching at Durham School of the Arts and soaking up the content in my graduate classes. I look forward to soon creating my own classroom space built on culturally sustaining and anti-racist foundations where students feel like they are seen, supported, and belong.
Why do you want to become a teacher?
Growing up and going to school in rural Ohio was one of the greatest gifts I have received and has shaped who I am today in every way. However, after graduating and moving away for college, I realized the lack of education I received around issues of social justice, systems of oppression, and the history of historically marginalized groups served as a detriment to me as I navigated the world outside the my tiny bubble. Wanting to make sure that every student, even those in homogenous rural communities, has the access to learning about themselves and others different from themselves as well as how to think critically about the world around them that I did not, I could think of no better profession than to become a teacher. Creating inclusive communities of belonging where all young people get to learn about who they are and about who others are is my goal as an educator, and I cannot wait to use what I learn from Duke and from Teach House to make it happen.
