I have always been a curious, inquisitive person. I love the process of intellectual inquiry, and I often find myself researching strange concepts and engaging in heated discussions about nonsense with my wife, who shares my interest in basically everything. One of the other constants throughout my life has been my quest to find the playful humor in life and to make the people around me smile and chuckle, if not burst into laughter. Over the past nineteen years, I have worked to bring these quirks into my classroom and teaching to foster a community that prioritizes connection, individual empowerment, and a healthy dose of whimsy and humor. After earning a BA in English and American Literature at Brandeis University, I moved to Florida and, in a way, fell into teaching as an exploratory venture. I immediately fell in love with the comradery I built with my students, and I knew within a year that it was my calling and passion. I eventually moved back to my home state of New Hampshire, where I continued working at the high school and middle school levels, developing and cultivating a reputation as a thoughtful, caring writing teacher whose style and methodology made students feel a sense of belonging and self-actualization. My room also became known as a place of laughter and authenticity, as I always aimed to create meaningful and memorable experiences for my classes. Additionally, I attended various training seminars focusing on structural and creative writing and earned credits toward a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction. I’m thrilled to be part of the McLean team as the grade 8 English teacher. I love inspiring students to find their voices through engaging projects and collaborative experiences, and I look forward to continuously innovating my course to best meet the needs of all students who I encounter. Students enjoy our work on the theme of narratives as well as our unit focusing on humor writing through satire and parody. These elicit students’ true voices and passions while maintaining the structural routines they use for more formal essay projects. They also tend to be the most palpable conduits to interpersonal connectivity, as students love to share their creativity with one another.