Her Story
About Christine
I have been in education for almost 30 years, and I currently serve as an adjunct professor and an ESL teacher in a high school. In my university role, I work with pre-service and master's program students, helping them prepare to teach English learners in their classrooms. As a teacher, I am a leader in the district, supporting other teachers and serving on state committees. I helped write the curricular crosswalk for the state of Tennessee as a lead facilitator. I have been a leader among the state organization of Tennessee TESOL, serving on the board for over 10 years in various roles, including past president. I was president during COVID, so I helped keep the organization alive. I'm at the leading edge of my career now, preparing for retirement in the next few years, but I have a strong voice among the ESL educators in the state of Tennessee because of my years of expertise. I hold a Bachelor's of Arts from Hope College in Holland, Michigan, where I was able to study overseas, a Master of Arts from Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, and an EdD from Trevecca Nazarene University in Nashville. My doctorate has really helped propel me into different arenas of opportunities, which is why I can be a professor. I went into education because I felt like I wanted to be a teacher, and what propelled me into ESL in particular was teaching a group of immigrant women who worked full-time and then came to my English class voluntarily to learn English. I fell in love with teaching English to people and chose that as a career, something I could get paid to do. I started teaching in 1997 part-time for a few years while I raised my family, and then I started full-time in 2000.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Christine
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to always being curious for what comes next and always being willing to learn new things. I love listening to what other people need and helping them reach their goals as well. One of my favorite things as I've grown older is working with pre-service teachers and helping them understand the education field, which right now can be tricky. I think one of my favorite things is to help support teachers as they educate English learners.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I ever received is that it's okay to say no, and you don't have to accept everything. I learned that influence is not based on position, it's based on how people perceive you, and personal influence is far greater than positional influence.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Know that it's worth it, and that it is a lot of hard work. There is a life-work balance, but sometimes, depending on the priorities in your life, it shifts. There's never anything that's just more important than the other. Self-care is important, and your balance comes from understanding what is a priority in the moment. Life-work balance is possible.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Community support right now is sometimes hit or miss. I think the biggest challenge in education right now is making sure students receive what they need, based on their needs, not necessarily what everybody else is saying they need. We are creating a generation of non-readers, and so I try to promote literacy and reading regardless of what group I'm working with. Just continuing to create communities of readers has been important to me.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Integrity and keeping your word are most important to me. Hard work matters, but I think not being afraid to fail is probably the number one thing. I try to teach my students that it's okay to fail, and we learn from when we fail. We don't always have to be right the first time.
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