Born and raised in the South (Atlanta, Georgia), I received my basic nursing education from a diploma (hospital) based program there. Wanting to "see the world" I joined the U.S. Air Force as a nurse and saw Wilford Hall Medical Center at Lackland Air Force Base (AFB) in San Antonio, Texas (my choice). Realizing that I wanted to do and see more, I left the Air Force (active duty) and joined the U.S. Air Force Reserves to "further see the world." My flight nurse training was at Brooks AFB in San Antonio,TX . I joined the 65th Aero-Medical Evacuation Reserve Unit at Travis AFB in Fairfield, CA. In the reserves we transported medical military patients and their dependents in the C141 aircraft from the Phillipines to Hawaii to Travis. I also traveled to Anchorage, Alaska for Air Force Reserve training flights on weekends.

I settled in San Francisco and started my "further education" route going to City College of SF and eventually graduating from Sonoma State University with a BS in Nursing and University of California at San Francisco with a MS in Nursing. Along the education route, I worked at various clinical agencies gaining years of experience in medical-surgical nursing with an emphasis on cardiac monitoring and cardiac care, while also gaining critical care, emergency, surgical, and supervisory experience.

Working as a clinical instructor at one agency, I discovered the joy of teaching. I evolved from inservice training to formal teaching in a school of nursing, psychiatric technician program and now the LVN program. My area of interest now is incorporating technology into education. I enjoy working with the continuing student who is pursuing a goal. Adult learners are fun to work with; bringing valuable life experiences to the classroom, lab and cyberspace.

Personally, I am married with twins -- a boy and a girl. Both attended SRJC. My son graduated from University of California at Santa Barbara with a major in sociology. My daughter is married to an ex-Marine who served one tour in Iraq. My husband is a freelance/wine writer who has written many books about wine and is published in many wine and non-wine magazines.