I was born and raised in Vancouver, but moved to Calgary after I was married. My first job was at West Island College where I taught for fifteen years. In the late 90s, if I remember correctly, the school introduced AP courses, and I began teaching AP Literature at that time. Part of my training included attending two Jane Schaffer workshops in the US, since her writing program was based on the best AP exam responses. With encouragement from Adell Nyberg, who marked provincial exams as well as AP exams for many years and who later led AP Lit workshops for the College Board, I applied to be a ‘reader’ for AP exams, doing that for seven years. In the fall of 2006, we moved back to Vancouver and I have been at WPGA ever since, teaching AP Literature and English 8-12.