I was born in Ocaña, Colombia. I moved to Stokes County in 2001 to work as an exchange Spanish teacher at Piney Grove Middle School and South Stokes High School through the VIF -Visiting International Faculty Program- which I belonged to for 3 years. When my contract with the program expired, I was rehired as a full time Saura!
I graduated from Universidad Industrial de Santander UIS, in Bucaramanga, Colombia, with a degree in Teaching and Languages. Upon graduation I taught English to adults at the UIS' Languages Institute for two years. I traveled to Mexico City to study a Master's Degree in Latin American Literature-UNAM. |
I am also a National Boards Certified Teacher in World Languages. I am passionate about learning and seek professional learning opportunities to implement new methods and technological tools to help my students succeed. I love sharing best practices by presenting at local and State conferences- FLANC- I also love mentoring new teachers and supporting fellow educators in achieving National Boards Certification.
For the 2008-2009 school year, I was chosen by my peers as South Stokes High School Teacher of the Year and was awarded Teacher of the Year Runner Up for the Stokes County Schools. I received the same honor in the 2011-2012 school year, and was awarded the County Teacher of the Year title. I was also a semifinalist for Regional Teacher of the year, this means I was one of 16 teachers in the state of North Carolina to be considered for the state title. I am married to Robert Jaffe, from California, who I met while living in Mexico. We have two children: Elia Marta, 13; and Benjamin Lewis, 10. Besides teaching, I enjoy traveling. I have taken students and friends to Central America and Europe. I also love spending time with family and travel every summer to Colombia and California. |