Dakar, Senegal 🇸🇳

We’ve officially arrived in Dakar, Senegal! 🇸🇳 After a long travel day from Boston to New York and finally to Senegal, I made it to the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. We made it through security and passport control relatively smoothly (even with my 54lb suitcase) and were greeted outside by our in-country consulate. 

The drive from the airport to Dakar gave us a small glimpse into life here. We saw streets filled with cars, taxis, buses, and kids, mostly boys, playing soccer. We also saw lots of coastal views as Dakar sits on the Atlantic Ocean.

After a quick rest, we jumped into our first programming session with an introduction to Senegalese history and culture. We learned about the country’s thirteen regions, traditional holidays, and explored key moments in its history and political landscape. We also learned that French is the official language of Senegal, but the majority of the population speaks Wolof. Because of this, it was important for us to begin learning a few common phrases. We practiced greetings like asalaam alaykum, and the response maalekum salaam, which translates to “peace be with you.” We also learned about culturally appropriate ways to greet others, especially as women, and the importance of taking time for conversation. What we might call “small talk” in the U.S. is anything but small here. It’s a meaningful and expected part of daily interactions. 

We ended our first day with a beautiful dinner right along the ocean. I ordered Thieboudienne, the national dish of Senegal, which is rice and fish cooked with vegetables and rich flavor. I definitely ate some things that I have no idea what they were, but it was delicious! As the sun went down, it actually got a little cold, which is not something I expected to be saying while in Senegal, as it only sits 14 degrees from the equator.  It's hard to believe this was only day 1, as it was filled with lots of learning, listening, and experiencing life here in Senegal. Can't wait for more tomorrow.

 

Fulbright Global Education Symposium

After months of learning, reflection, and preparation through the Fulbright Global Classroom coursework, it was finally time to head to Washington, D.C. for the Global Education Symposium. The symposium brought together more than one hundred Fulbright educators for an intensive few days of collaboration, conversation, and inspiration. Traveling from schools across the United States, we arrived with different subjects, grade levels, and experiences, but we shared a common goal, helping our students understand and engage with the wider world.

Throughout the symposium, I found myself continually energized by the people in the room. Educators shared stories of how they were weaving global perspectives into science lessons, literature discussions, art projects, and community partnerships. Every conversation seemed to spark a new idea and was a constant reminder that global education is not a separate subject, but a lens that can transform the way students see their place in the world.

One of the most meaningful moments for me was meeting the eleven other educators who will travel with me to Senegal in April. Each of us brings a different background and perspective, and together we began imagining how our shared experience in Senegal might shape the way we teach and the opportunities we create for our students. We also had an opportunity to connect with IREX and Department of State members, along with hearing the 2026 National Teacher of the Year speak.

Another highlight was visiting the Embassy of Senegal in Washington D.C. Stepping inside the embassy was a powerful reminder that the country we have been studying and preparing to visit is not just a destination on a map, but a place with deep culture, history, and people whose perspectives we are eager to learn from. The visit sparked conversations about culture, education, and the importance of approaching international exchange with curiosity, humility, and respect.

The symposium marked the end of our formal coursework, but it also felt like the beginning of something new. Soon, our cohort will travel to Senegal, where we will continue learning from educators, communities, and students there. I am excited to bring those experiences back to my classroom, helping my students, colleagues, and community see that the world is full of connections waiting to be explored. More to come from my field placement in Senegal.

 

The Explorers Club Monday Night Lecture

Last month, I stood at a podium that has hosted some of the most legendary voices in exploration from Jane Goodall, Sylvia Earle, to the Apollo 11 crew. To say I was honored would be an understatement. I was there to speak at The Explorers Club headquarters in New York City for an event celebrating something truly groundbreaking, the return of the inaugural Teacher Fellows Program from the Amazon's Boiling River. The fall lecture series kicked off with a night of stories from the 2025 Boiling River Expedition and what made this expedition different was who was on it. Four K-12 teachers, including myself, joined as full expedition members to one of the most extreme ecosystems on Earth. We're talking about a river that's up to 100 feet wide, 15 feet deep, flows for over four miles, and reaches temperatures over 200°F.

This wasn't just about teachers observing exploration. It was about teachers doing exploration, actively participating in research and conservation work. The Explorers Club created this program to bring together teachers and explorers like never before, and to set new standards for how exploration is done.

The event at The Explorers Club headquarters brought together explorers, educators, scientists, and supporters to hear about our experiences in the field. We celebrated the successful return of TEC Flag 114 and the Rolex Expedition Watch Explorer II, but more importantly, we shared how this expedition is already transforming our classrooms. 

I had the chance to speak about how I brought the Boiling River back to my 4th graders in Middleton, Massachusetts, through immersive VR experiences that let them stand on the same rocks I stood on and experience the Boiling River in 360°. This was then the catalyst to spark local action. The audience Q&A afterward sparked wonderful conversations about the future of exploration and education.

What struck me most about the evening was the shared belief in the room that when you connect teachers with exploration, you multiply the impact exponentially. It's not just one person on one expedition, it's entire classrooms, schools, and communities that benefit.

This inaugural program proved that teachers belong in the field as full expedition members, and that the work of exploration doesn't end when you leave. It continues in classrooms where the next generation of explorers and environmental champions are being inspired.

I'm honored to have been part of this first cohort and to help usher in what I believe will become a flagship program at The Explorers Club. Here's to many more teachers getting expedition-tested and bringing those experiences back to transform how students see themselves and their planet.

Head to 36:52 to hear my part of the lecture

 

A Week of Wonder: Reflections from the National Geographic Explorers Festival

Black tigers, penguins, and Antarctic krill, oh my!🐅🐧🦐

I just returned from Washington, D.C., where I spent an extraordinary week at the National Geographic Explorers Festival, and I'm still buzzing with inspiration. As I sat on my flight home, I kept replaying moments from the week, powerful presentations, chance conversations in hallways, and those pinch-me instances when I realized I was in the same room as people whose work has shaped how I see the world.

Two years ago, I joined the National Geographic community as a Grosvenor Teacher Fellow, an experience that fundamentally changed my approach to teaching and learning. Since then, I've been continuously inspired by perspectives that challenge my assumptions, questions that ignite my curiosity, and ideas that point toward a better world. But this week at the Explorers Festival? It took that inspiration to an entirely new level.

The festival brought together an incredible mix of National Geographic educators, explorers, scientists, and storytellers from around the globe. These weren't just people doing remarkable work, they were people generous enough to share their journeys, their failures alongside their successes, and their unwavering commitment to understanding and protecting our planet.

One of the most meaningful parts of the festival was having the opportunity to share my own work with immersive learning experiences in the classroom. It's one thing to be inspired by the incredible explorers around you, but it's another to realize that the work we're doing as educators bringing the world into our classrooms in new and engaging ways, matters to this community too. The conversations that followed reminded me that we're all part of the same mission: sparking curiosity and helping others see the world with fresh eyes while making their impact on the world

This week reminded me of something essential: there is always more to learn. New discoveries are unfolding every single day. The world is more surprising, more complex, and more beautiful than we can possibly imagine from our individual vantage points. 

I left D.C. with powerful lessons that I'm already thinking about how to weave into my teaching:

Perseverance matters. I heard stories of research expeditions that took years to yield results, of hypotheses that required complete rethinking, of fieldwork in the harshest conditions imaginable. The explorers I met don't give up, they pivot, adapt, and persist.

Curiosity is a superpower. The questions these scientists and explorers ask aren't always the obvious ones. They wonder about the small things, the overlooked things, the "what if" scenarios that others dismiss. That childlike sense of wonder? It's not something to outgrow, it's something to nurture and protect.

Courage to push boundaries changes everything. Whether it's diving beneath Antarctic ice, tracking elusive wildlife, or challenging long-held scientific assumptions, the work of exploration requires bravery. Not the absence of fear, but the willingness to move forward despite it.

Now I'm back home, but I'm bringing something invaluable with me: a heart full of wonder and a head full of ideas. I'm already planning how to share these stories with my students, how to help them see that exploration isn't something that happens "out there" by "other people". It's a mindset we can all cultivate, right here, right now.

The world needs curious minds. It needs people who ask questions, who push boundaries, who care deeply about understanding and protecting our planet. My students can be those people. They already are, in so many ways.

Thank you, National Geographic, for creating spaces where educators, scientists, and storytellers can come together. Thank you for investing in teachers through programs like the Grosvenor Teacher Fellowship. And thank you for reminding me why I fell in love with teaching in the first place because learning never stops, wonder never fades, and there's always another discovery waiting just around the corner. 🌎✨