I am but a simple art teacher with a dream to make a difference in this world one small step at a time. I'm not the first of anything, but that's fine with me. The most important thing for me is about being a part of something that is positive, regardless of how big or small.  As I learn and grow through my life experience,  I hope others will learn and grow with me. I hope to be able to inspire my students, friends, and family members the same way that they have inspired me. 

Coming from a poor refugee background, education for me is everything.  With it being everything, it makes life possible and bearable.  Through my passion to teach and my photography workshops, I hope to reach out to members of the community that I will be serving in a way that is long lasting.  Here's a quote by Paulo Freire that I'd like to share:

Education either functions as an instrument which is used to facilitate integration of the younger generation into the logic of the present system and bring about conformity or it becomes the practice of freedom, the means by which men and women deal critically and creatively with reality and discover how to participate in the transformation of their world.  ~Paulo Freire~

 Like the old African proverb states, "it takes a whole village to raise a child."  And what better way to help make the world a better place than helping a child in need of education and artistic expression than through photography?