As a parent, you want to foster creativity within elective courses and truly watch your child progress. As a photography mentor, Niki understands why this is so important and is constantly encouraging students to explore new ways of thinking, creating, and capturing photographs. In her own words, “The thing I love most about photography is the ability to capture and “freeze” life so that memories stay alive. I love the opportunity to see things from a different perspective.”

Niki loves creating, and specifically enjoys sculpture, painting, ceramics, digital design, doodling, gardening, and singing all day long. She has an Associates degree in Fine Arts and is currently studying Web Design and Development at Brigham Young University Idaho. 

It’s no secret that you desire the absolute best for your student. You strive to see them excel in core subjects, but also push themselves in key elective Leadership courses. As a mentor, Alleigh innately believes that each student can grow and succeed when leadership is practiced and encouraged. “Leadership has been the essence of my life. If I can’t be my own leader then how am I going to lead others? With this thought in my head I deliberately choose to lead myself to become a better and stronger person.”

In her free time, Alleigh enjoys reading, meeting new people, experiencing different cultures, and serving others. She has lived in Guatemala and Italy, and is currently studying at Brigham Young University-Idaho.

The best mentor for your student is the one with a contagious passion for what they teach, and Toni is that mentor. Toni has loved reading since she was three years old. As she says, “I love working with students to help them find the right book and catch the reading bug.” Some of Toni’s favorite authors include Jane Austen, Charlotte Bronte, Dickens, and Dostoyevsky. She’s excited to share her love of literature with your student.

Toni has worked as both a classroom teacher and school librarian, as well as a music teacher (she plays the violin). She holds a degree in German Literature and Music from Brigham Young University. Besides reading and music, Toni loves traveling and spending time outside with her family in beautiful St. George, Utah.

As a parent, you want a mentor who loves helping students apply their subject in the real world. Stephanie knows the value of using math every day and encouraging students to do the same. As she says, “I love that math takes the basic concepts from elementary school and puts them together in new ways to build new concepts. It’s like taking all the ingredients and putting them together to make the best Pi ever! The question of ‘When am I ever going to use this?’ is very easy to answer in math because we use it everywhere—shopping, baking, construction, designing, art, sports, you name it!” Stephanie can’t wait to work with your student.

Stephanie holds a degree in Math Education from Brigham Young University. In her free time, she loves reading, taking long walks, painting, and building puzzles.

When it comes to a subject like math, your student needs a mentor who not only has a deep knowledge of the subject but also the ability to make it meaningful. As a mentor, that’s Travis’s focus. As he says, “What I love most about teaching math is being able to simplify the process and showing students how most concepts relate to their everyday lives. Although not every topic in math is practical to everyone’s life, the ability to think and problem solve is something every student can use daily.”

Travis has over eighteen years of teaching and coaching experience. He holds numerous degrees and licenses, including an MBA, Masters in Education, and Bachelor of Finance and Economics. In his free time, Travis enjoys cooking, coaching high school football, and spending time with his family.

Berit is new to Williamsburg this year, coming to you from Arlington, VA. She grew up half of her life near the beach in Southern California and the other half of her life in the mountains of a small town in Northern Utah. She values the education she received all the way up until earning her B.S. in Public Health and her B.A. in French both at Brigham Young University. Her love and knowledge of French stems from living in Paris on a study abroad, French Polynesia as a missionary for her church, and years working as a social worker with newly arrived refugees in the United States. She’s a brand new mom to a sweet girl and wife to a wonderful guy. Together, they love canoeing around the national monuments on the Potomac, finding hidden trails to hike outside the city, and making cooking videos. She is excited to be a part of the Williamsburg community!

Kent grew up in the middle of the Sonoran Desert, where there were more cacti than people. As a kid, he spent all of his time outside—when he was not running around in the desert, he was usually building some sort of contraption that would help him catch desert critters. Kent is very thankful for this childhood setting.

Kent has always loved science and anything to do with designing and building things. These passions, combined with a personality that is “never satisfied with short answers or textbook explanations,” have made science a way of life for Kent. “The more you understand, the less you actually know. The eternal progression of learning more, to understand less, is very addicting.”

Kent holds a degree in Interdisciplinary Studies from Western Governors University, where he majored in elementary education. Before joining Williamsburg, Kent taught middle school science for five years at George Washington Academy in St. George, Utah, where he was voted Teacher of the Year twice in a row.

“To gain your own voice, you have to forget about having it heard.” Karin first read this Allen Ginsberg quote years ago, and as a writer, it blew her mind. “Why hadn’t I ever approached writing from that point of view?” she asked. “I write. It’s what I do and what I love. Learning about writing, sharing my writing, helping others foster their creative voices is my passion.”

Karin and her family live in a little town just outside Las Vegas, Nevada. They love to travel. Karin feels that part of being a well-rounded person is exploration: “Seeing different cities, states, and countries and experiencing their cultures is the best way to learn about other people,” she says. In her spare time, Karin also loves to practice yoga, read, knit, and put together jigsaw puzzles.

After graduating from Southern New Hampshire University with a BA in English and Creative Writing, she is currently exploring options for her Master’s degree. After watching her own child excel at Williamsburg over the last school year, Karin is thrilled to be joining the Williamsburg mentor team this fall.

More than anything, Emily loves learning new things and sharing her enthusiasm for learning with others. As a result, Emily has found herself in a wide range of teaching situations, including teaching writing to homeschoolers; teaching reading to a child with dyslexia and teaching English, keyboarding, and Spanish in public school. In her own words, “My life has been rich with opportunities for discovering and sharing the things I love most with others.”

Emily studied English Education at Utah Valley University and has “a deep fondness for the Rocky Mountains, sagebrush, and sunshine of the West.” At the same time, after living for six years now in Central New York, Emily also feels at home “amidst the woods, waterfalls, and rich history of the East” with her husband and three children.

Wandering through antique shops, hotly debating whether ice cream tastes better from a cup or a cone, practicing yoga, turning up the volume to Beethoven’s 9th symphony, reading great literature, identifying birds in my backyard, and holding impromptu dance parties in the living room are a few of Emily’s favorite things right now.

“G’day mate! Yes, you guessed it, I am Australian. Not quite the ‘Steve Urwin Crocodile Hunter’ type, but pretty close!” Ross is very excited to be the first “Aussie” mentor for Williamsburg Learning. Growing up, Ross was deeply impacted by his own caring role models and mentors—so much so that he realized he wanted to serve others the same way for the rest of his life.

After completing a Bachelor of Business & Economics and Japanese Language & Asian Studies from Monash University in Australia, Ross “did what most people do: got a job and paid off a mortgage.” After that, something changed: “We needed more from life and so my wife and five children and I left Australia and began exploring the world.” They have now visited 33 countries and love seeing how travel changes how they see the world.

On one of his family adventures, Ross had a “chance” encounter with some Williamsburg mentors and their families, on top of Mt. Vesuvius, Italy. That moment changed Ross’s life (“thank you, Denning and Young families!”) and the rest is history.

Kathryn has tutored and taught online for many years and loves having the unique opportunity to meet new people from all over the world through online learning platforms. In her own words: “I LOVE teaching math and think it’s the best subject out there! I believe all students can ‘get’ math with enough effort. I love helping students make those connections.”

Kathryn grew up in Arizona and has lived in Finland for one-and-a-half years. She is proficient in Spanish and fluent in Finnish and enjoys trying to find ways to use both of these languages back at home in the U.S.

Kathryn holds a BS degree in Math Education from Brigham Young University. She currently lives in Ohio with her husband, and they both love being outdoors, hiking, and playing racquetball. They also love going to sporting events (“go Indians!”), trying new foods, and riding new roller coasters. Their absolute favorite pastime, though, is playing board games with friends.

Camille grew up in Mesa, Arizona, and her childhood consisted of friends, swimming, and sports. “School was also a huge priority in our family. While it may not have been the purest of motivations, my goal was always to outperform my older sisters.” Math was always Camille’s favorite subject: “I remember begging my mom in third grade to take me to school early so I could try getting faster times on my multiplication tables!”

Over time, Camille realized that her passion for math came from her amazing high school teachers and that she wanted to “be that teacher for someone else.” This led Camille to attend Brigham Young University and Utah State University studying Math and Math Education. Camille also made her first connection with Williamsburg while attending college and joined the team as a math tutor.

Camille and her husband are parents to a beautiful baby girl. Along with math and spending time with her family, Camille loves to play the piano and attend sporting events.

The cornfields of Indiana were my birthing grounds, and therefore I am a Midwestern at heart. I wasn’t actually born in a cornfield, in case you’re curious. But for 18 years, I lived in Indiana and soaked it all up: the humidity, lightening bugs, luscious sunsets, biscuits and gravy, small towns. After 12 years in St. George, Utah, I moved back to the Midwest (Nebraska) and am again reunited with my roots.

I am passionate about people and helping them find their way. Not to mention I also love hiking, yoga-ing, joking, helping, listening, singing, observing, harmonizing, guitaring, learning, creating, walking, teaching, journaling, improving, laughing, playing, thinking, reading, and hugging.

Many days I go on walks. I smell the outdoors. I lie in the grass and look up. I hang out with my family and laugh, sing, and process life. I make birthday cards for people out of random scraps and doo dads I’ve been collecting. I am very deep, analytical, and contemplative. The humor is constant; my sister says I wear it like underpants. (Should I put that on a t-shirt?) But I’m also rather sensitive and serious. All at the same time! I also have many weaknesses which make me a very exciting person.

I have an AAS degree in Art and Visual Communication with Concentration in Computer Graphics from Utah Valley State College and a BS in Secondary Art Education from Utah Valley University.

I’m a great designer, and I enjoy teaching others. I have a passion for the fine arts, and I’m looking forward to being a mentor for Williamsburg Learning. I spend my time with my two girls and share all my artistic talents with them. I live in sunny St. George, Utah near the gorgeous red rocks, where I enjoy swimming, hiking, and camping with my family.

I am an Idaho girl through and through. I was born and raised in Preston, Idaho. After high school, I moved to Pocatello, Idaho for college where I met my amazing husband, Randy. We both graduated from Idaho State University in 2000, me with a degree in Dental Hygiene and him with an Electrical Engineering Degree. We then moved to Moscow, Idaho where Randy pursued a masters degree in Computer Engineering at the University of Idaho and I went to work to support our family. It turned out that dental hygiene was not the ideal career for me – I love to discuss great ideas with people and the conversations are very one-sided when you have your hands in the other person’s mouth. As soon as Randy graduated, I retired to stay home with our toddler and brand new baby and I’ve never looked back.

We moved to the Boise, Idaho area and we have since added three more children to our family. I have been blessed to be able to pursue a leadership education alongside our kids for these last 15 years. Reading and studying the classics together has changed our family forever. Now the kids are growing up and we are starting to really reap the fruits of an education to match our missions. It is so much fun!

We have been a Williamsburg family since 2011 when my oldest son started by taking Mr. Rees’ Computer Programming class over the summer. We fell in love with the education and culture of Williamsburg, and I am thrilled to be joining the faculty as a Leadership Coach.

I LOVE adventure!!! From studying abroad in Israel and Mexico, living in the Russian language house at BYU, and teaching and exploring in Hong Kong….To marrying my incredible husband, becoming an instant mother to three amazing stepchildren, and dedicating myself to creating a family.  (Several years later, I had two of my own absolutely wonderful children!)

I always knew I wanted to go to college and chose Brigham Young University where I not only graduated in history but also devoured the whole educational experience. While driving for several hours to our family gathering during my first Thanksgiving break from college, I couldn’t stop telling my parents about everything I was learning in every class I was taking! I love learning, and I love sharing that knowledge and enthusiasm with others.

Through homeschooling my children for eight years, I realized I also love being an advocate for students who want to explore and develop their interests, talents, and unique educational pursuits, which is why I am so excited about mentoring Williamsburg students and sharing this enthusiasm with them (and their families)!

I believe that all aspects of our lives are potential adventures fraught with challenges, growth, and ultimately joy as our horizons are elevated, our character is strengthened, and our association with others cultivated.  Did I mention, I LOVE adventure?!

There is nothing I love so well as the moment of epiphany that marks when real learning occurs. I love everything about the learning process, but mostly I love the way that my students breathe life into what we’re studying. I find that as I teach, I’m always learning, and I find that cycle deliciously exhilarating. I graduated from BYU with a degree in English Teaching and Japanese; I also pursued a Master’s Degree in Literacy at Utah State University. I’ve spent most of my adult life teaching: Japanese and English Language Arts to high-schoolers, reading skills to elementary schoolers, and a course I like to call “How to be a Person” taught exclusively to my two children.

I currently reside in Western New York where the weather colors everything we do. Here, summer is verdant and I like to camp and hike and fill up on sunshine; winters are long and gray– it feels a little like Narnia. Then, suddenly, a tulip leaf peeks out of the snow, and hope renews: this is spring. Of course, nothing beats autumn. In the shade of gold and red trees, we harvest apples, concord grapes, and giant peaches so full of juice that when you take a bite it dribbles down your chin. I like traveling, being with my family, and when all else fails, a soft chair, a giant bowl of popcorn, and a really good book.

I was first introduced to foreign languages when I was just a young girl and took a mini-course in German. It fascinated me and my journey began. I created my own alphabet with my sisters and wrote notes in that language/code for years.  When I hit high school and had foreign language options, I took more German whenever possible and when German wasn’t available, I took Spanish. When I started my college years, I added Russian to the mix.  After three years at Utah State University, I had my bachelor’s degree along with a secondary education teaching certificate. After graduation, I served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Even though I was called to the Russia Samara Mission, I started out in San Diego, California speaking Spanish. I then went on to live for over a year in Russia splitting my time there between Samara, Rostov, and Volgograd. After my mission, I had a short career in a traditional brick and mortar high school where I taught all three languages at Carbon High School. During that time, I went with two other teachers and we took a group of our students to Germany for an exchange program.  I lived in Hamburg for a month that summer and loved my time there.  I “retired” from teaching for a while after I married and then became pregnant with my first child. I couldn’t seem to stay away from languages or education and ended up teaching English as a Second Language for the College of Eastern Utah (now USU-Eastern). Later that year, I was an assistant and lesson developer for my husband who taught Japanese at the same college. After getting all of our ten kids added to our family, five the biological way and five through adoption, I re-entered the teaching field – this time in the virtual world. Since then, I have taught for Utah Online, Utah Virtual Academy, Kids On Line Academy, and Leadership Academy of Utah. I have been a teacher at home as well as I have taught my own children using online resources and schools along with traditional homeschool and local co-ops. I have also been involved in other aspects of education such as curriculum development, assessment creation, website development and management, registration, recruitment and more. I have a passion for children, families, education, cultures, and languages.

It was as a young teenager that I had an experience that produced an epiphany about the direction for my future professional life. In our social studies class, we had an assignment to write a story about pioneers. I had always felt that my teacher was indifferent to me and favored many of the other students. So I determined to prove to him that I was a good student and a good person. With that story, I tried something I had never done before. I determined to write a story the way that my favorite authors wrote their stories and captivated their readers. The story I selected was based largely on my great-grandfather, who, at 12 became the man of the family when his father died. The story had dialogue and descriptions like I had never written before, and though the work was hard, the result gave me a lot of satisfaction. I knew it was very good.

As usual, the teacher read to the class some of the best student work. I sat on the edge of my chair, waiting—but my story was not read. When he handed back the stories, my heart sank when I saw a big, red F on the top. I took my story up to his desk and asked him, “Why?”

“You know why!” he said.
“No, I don’t.”
“Because you copied it from a magazine.”

I assured him I hadn’t copied it. That experience proved to be a gift. I knew I had an ability to write and I set my sails for that direction. During two years in the South Pacific, I decided to apply to a school of journalism, since writers like Ernest Hemmingway started as journalists. I applied to Northwestern University because Medill School of Journalism was the top rated school, but also because I wanted to experience life in a big, urban area like Chicago. Additionally, I wanted to play Big Ten football.

At NU, I met Maya. We married, then raised our four children in the Chicago area. Supporting my family by better-paying work, writing became more of a passionate avocation. Nevertheless, I’ve had four books published and numerous short stories and articles. I’ve also done a lot of teaching at a college level and developed workshops for corporations. I’m excited to be mentoring at WA, and hope that I can help many of you, in a positive way, discover some of your great potential, and maybe even your direction in life!

Learning is simply an accumulation of your experiences. Here are the Top 10 experiences that have shaped my life learning to this point.

I grew up in Northern California as the oldest of six children. We lived in the Redwood Forest and right next to the beach! It was absolutely in every way a fairytale. I spent most of my childhood soaking up the outdoors; I loved laying in the grass, swinging in my hammock, reading books, and talking with friends. I always knew I wanted to teach. My siblings and I would rearrange the dining room chairs in rows to make a school bus (to get to school) and then a classroom. We would even use small tables to create desks! After I graduated high school I enrolled at Brigham Young University, with NO idea which

After I graduated high school I enrolled at Brigham Young University, with NO idea which subject to focus on. While at BYU, I signed up for more and more mathematics classes. As I continued, I grew to love my math classes, and the connections I could make between them. I loved being able to see how differently each student learned, and I loved applying different methods to the same concept. I have a very fundamental belief that each student can make those same connections, and that the connections are individual and unique. I believe that with balanced effort between student and mentor, both students and mentors can succeed.

What do I consider my success? Helping a student connect and understand a new mathematical concept! I graduated in Math Education from Brigham Young University in 2012 and taught for a few years in Utah. Now I’m a mom of three cuties and am living in Las Vegas, Nevada.

I am a lover of learning, dance, mathematics, and truth. I found my passion for mathematics in college when I realized that it is an art form and a modality for creation. I love puzzles, ideas, and anything else that challenges my mind. I love working with youth and creating environments where people can change their perceptions of themselves and the world around them to perceptions that bring more joy and happiness into their lives.

As a child, I was “everything schooled”. Home-school, no-school, co-op school, private school, charter school, public school, you name it…I probably did it 🙂 After graduating high school at 16, I changed my major three times (Accounting > Elementary Education > Physics > Mathematics Education) before confirming that the beauty and art of mathematics are what I really want to share with the world. I graduated in May 2014 with my Bachelor’s of Science in Mathematics Education with a minor in Physics Teaching and then spent a year teaching at a charter school in Arizona.I grew up in Paradise, a tiny country town in northern Utah, as the oldest of 11 children. I rarely live in the same place for more than a year, but my home base is in Utah.

I’m a committed jack-of-all-trades with a wide variety of interests, from astronomy to beekeeping to bookbinding. I run a few websites and own a small publishing company with my wife. I speak Chinese and really bad Spanish. I travel a lot, but mostly in search of Mexican food.

I grew up in Las Vegas but now live in Portland, Oregon. The weather could not be more different, but it reminds me of my time spent living in Scotland, where I lived when I began working at Williamsburg. I studied Chinese and Business Management at Brigham Young University, including lots of travel around Asia working with and learning from international businesses there.

My one weakness is my hardcore red-green colorblindness, so I can easily be bested in a game of Uno.

My name is Abby Alley and I am from Ogden, Utah. I love to travel, see movies, explore and play with friends and family!

I attended Brigham Young University and graduated with a BA in History with a secondary education certification. I studied abroad in London, England where I met my husband, Addison Alley. I spent two years teaching World and Utah History to 6th and 7th graders in an International Baccalaureate (IB) school. While there, I participated in the accreditation process as well as the creation of curriculum for the World and Utah History programs. In late 2012 my husband and I welcomed our first child, Alice, into the family. We moved to Washington D.C. in the summer of 2013 so Addison could attend medical school at George Washington University. We currently live in Arlington, Virginia. I am super excited to be a part of the Williamsburg team!

I have twin loves: classical literature and the guitar. I’ve been playing guitar for 21 years and teaching professionally for 10. I studied jazz at Cornish College of the Arts, music at Southern Utah University, and private guitar with Howard Schaunzer and Barry Brooksby. I have extensive experience as a performer and have recorded two albums. I am a student-listener of guitar history and consider guitar to be a spiritual practice by which one may commune with The Beautiful. Such communion includes everything from soft and lyrical acoustic melodies to melting cherub faces with electric madness. My passion for classical literature led me to pursue an MA in Eastern Classics from St. John’s College. I love watching people’s souls expand when studying Lao Tzu, Voltaire, and other great thinkers. I have been teaching classical literature online for several years.

I married Lindsay Fife in 2003 and, along with our five little ones, we are living a wild adventure––currently residing near Dallas, Texas.

I have been tutoring math and science for over six years and have been a student of science my entire life. I love explosions, unpredictable chemical reactions, figuring out why stuff does what it does, and eating hot slices of Hawaiian-style pizza. My greatest award in science was being voted “most likely to be a mad scientist” by my classmates at Carbon High. I’m close to finishing a BS degree from Southern Utah University in Physics, Chemistry, and Biology, with an emphasis in classical scientific thought. My background in computer technology helps me find fun and unique ways to make math and science come alive in Williamsburg’s online courses.

My wife, children and I live in Cedar City, Utah.

Fitness and education are two of my passions in life. I am very fortunate to be able to live out these passions in a variety of ways. I hold a BA in Physical Education from the University of North Carolina Wilmington and an MA in Instructional Technology from North Carolina State University. I enjoy sharing my expertise in Physical Education and Instructional Technology to mentor students and enable them to make healthy living a lifestyle. I strongly believe that students need to experience a healthy lifestyle rather than merely reading about it–that’s why I do what I do.
I live in Wendell, North Carolina with my wife, Emily, our daughter, Lorelei,  and our beloved dog, Hawkins. My family and I enjoy living in NC where we are close to both of our families, the beach, and the mountains! When I am not mentoring or spending quality time with my family, you will find me running or riding my bike! My favorite races to compete in are the half-marathon and the full marathon. I also enjoy most any other sport, playing guitar, and volunteering in and around my community.

Words, words, words. They follow me everywhere . . . and I love it. When I was eleven, my family moved into a home just four blocks from the public library. We could have lived in a refrigerator box, and I would not have cared because I spent all of my waking hours at the library. Not much has changed, but I don’t live in a refrigerator box now, either. Instead, I stockpile books around the house. I’ve had the privilege to carve a life path that has kept me buried in books, kids, and education. I earned a BA from Prescott College with multiple areas of emphasis: English, Writing for Publication, and Secondary Education, and a Master of Education Degree with a concentration in language acquisition from Regent University. Soon after, I began teaching college writing courses, while simultaneously editing and publishing a magazine. Over the years, I have mentored thousands of students (from primary school to college) in writing, literature, and drama. I prefer to teach a formulaic style of writing first because it takes the mystery out of creating articulate written communication. While students master the science of writing, I begin to invite them into the art of writing as well. Working with Williamsburg students has been a delight. They are positive, excited to learn, driven, and self-reliant—every mentor’s dream. To my fellow bookies—some of my favorite authors are Roald Dahl, Alan Paton, Charles Dickens, Peter Kreeft, C.S. Lewis, and Alexis de Tocqueville.

My husband and I have always shared a passion for exciting, engaging, eccentric education, and this drove us to home-educate our own five children. We live in Albuquerque, New Mexico. We have been mostly eclectic in our choices, which makes for a fabulous (yet chaotic) educational journey. My children have benefitted from Williamsburg’s courses as part of their homeschool curriculum. With our two oldest out of college and our youngest turning seven soon, I can assuredly say that immersing myself in fabulous education is a calling I love to perpetuate. Some favorite pastimes: hiking, sitting around campfires, book clubs, live theater, going to the beach, traveling, and two-hour family dinners with lots of loud talking and laughing.