Introductions

Introductions
This page is for all members of the group to post an introduction of themselves. Simply click on the 'Edit' button toward the top of the page, and then scroll down to where the last person introduced herself. Write a short introduction, and if you like what you wrote, click 'Save' in the floating editor toolbar.

Hola! Bonjour! Konichiwa! My name is Kerry Urquizo! I am the ESL coordinator at Heartland Community College. I have been teaching in the Blo-No area for about 12 years. I have taught workplace skills, Business English, Even Start/parenting ESL and academic ESL over the years. I absolutely love being an adult educator and hope that I can continue for many years to come. Besides being an ESL teacher, I am a wife and a mom of three beautiful children and one rambunctious dog. I can't wait to get to know all of you better! -Kerry

Hi! My name is Corey Mattson. I teach elementary ESL at Oakland School in District 87. I moved here to the Bloomington-Normal area only two years ago, following my wife who got a job at ISU. We had been living in the other "Twin Cities," Mpls/St. Paul, where I had taught beginning ELLs at the middle school level. Going into my third year here, I'm a big fan of the Bloomington-Normal area, especially in summer, liking the blues festivals, farmers' markets, and biking trails. --- Corey

Vivian Petsas - AELP Writing Instructor, Beginning ESL Teacher, Heartland Community College

La'Shanta Williams - 4th Grade D87 - Stevenson Elementary This is my 11th year of teaching. My previous experience involves my role as an Alcohol, Tobacco Drug and Prevention Specialist for Mercer and Rock Island County. I'm originally from Rock Island, IL and am a 1994 Golden Apple Scholar. My classroom is self-contained. Since I am a the only classroom teacher that is ESL certified, the ELL students coming to 4th grade are always clustered in my classroom.

Molly Uhren--Oakland School D87, K-1 ESL This is my 10th year teaching. I have been teaching ESL for the last four years and really enjoy working with the younger students and teaching them about cultural differences, diversity, and tolerance. I am a wife and mother of two beautiful girls with another one coming in a few weeks--YEAH!

Katie O'Dell-Largent - Stevenson School D87, 1-5 ESL Ciao, amici! I work with 1st -5th grade ELLs at Stevenson Elementary. I am excited to be a part an organization of people that are passionate about supporting ELLs in our community.

Hello, all! My name is Kathy Mundell-Bligh. I have taught ESL in this community since 1992, first at ISU’s English Language Institute as a graduate student, then as a regular instructor until 2000. I have done adjunct work at Heartland CC (teaching ELLs and also in the writing program) and in the late 90’s/early 2000’s taught TESOL courses to future teachers at Lincoln Christian University. I also spent several years teaching English to the Japanese employees at Mitsubishi. For the past 11 years, I have been teaching for District 87 at Bloomington Jr. High, working with 6-8th graders. I guess I’m an “all-purpose” ESL teacher and I still love it.

Tammy Truitt - Heartland Community College ESL Specialist I have been working in the ESL/EFL field for 15 years now. Wow, has it really been that long? I taught for 4 amazing years in Vietnam. Other countries I have taught in include India, Argentina, United Arab Emirates, and the Maldives. Here in the States, I have been lucky enough to teach refugees, corporate ESL, accent reduction, Even Start, academic English, and even teacher certification courses. Isn't it said that if you find a job you love, it doesn't feel like work. Well, the truth is the paperwork and grading still feel like work, but I find the teaching part a real joy!