I grew up in southeastern Wisconsin in the Milwaukee area. After graduating from Port Washington High in 1998, I attended Xavier University where I completed a double major in Advertising & Philosophy in 2002. While at Xavier, I studied abroad in Rome, which was one of the best experiences of my life. After completing my Bachelors, I decided to try teaching overseas. I worked at the American School of Milan until I decided to get my Masters in Education at Cardinal Stritch University which I obtained in May of 2007.
After getting my degree, I moved to Sheboygan Wisconsin and started work at Pigeon River Elementary school for three years. During those years, I worked as a fifth grade Teacher teaching all the core subjects. I was on a district wide Social Studies committee to aline our curricular with the state and national standards. I also helped with transition of Pigeon River Elementary school with the theme of Green Education. The years I spent at Pigeon River helped me form my solid foundation as an educator.
In May of 2007, I completed my Masters of Education, married my wife Heidi and moved to Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin where we live now. I started teaching for University School of Milwaukee in the fall of 2008 and currently still work there. Outside of working for USM, I enjoy speaking at conferences, instructing in technology and presenting workshops. A list of my speaking engagements under the presentation menu of the site.
As for my current roles, I wear many hats:
- Teacher: I am a middle school computer teacher for University School of Milwaukee. Currently, I teach an 6th Grade World History Course and an 8th Grade International Relations course that I created.
- Technology Coach: Outside of my teaching time, I work as a technology coach for the staff in 3 of our divisions. My role has me helping teachers to use Moodle as well as some other web 2.0 technologies in the classroom.
- Business Owner: After moving to University School of Milwaukee, I started my own summer camp for kids entering 6th-12th grades. The company is called Thirdfloorgamers. These camps are great for kids to learn informational literacy, develop interpersonal skills as well as have clean fun with other kids.
- Technology Enthusiast: I love technology. I like playing with new technology and finding a way for it to be brought into the classroom to further engage students and teachers.
- Board Games: I love to play all kinds of games with all kinds of people. If you’re up for some fun give me a call.