After her freshman year at UConn, Christine changed her major and transferred into what was then the School of Family Studies to pursue a degree working with young children. Her concentration was Child Development and Early Childhood Education. This decision came after she took the course Programs for Young Children with Dr. Jane Goldman. Jane also became Christine’s academic advisor. Christine began a field placement at the Child Development Laboratories (CDL) in what was then the Infant/Toddler Room. She fell in love with the Program and completed student teaching experiences in both the Infant/Toddler Room and the Preschool Room.
After graduation, Christine accepted a teacher position in the Infant/Toddler Room at Packachoag Early Childhood Program in Auburn, Massachusetts. During her four years at the school, she taught children in both the Infant/Toddler and Preschool rooms. She developed and wrote the school’s first curriculum for Infants and Toddlers. Christine also wrote the Early Childhood newsletter for the school providing information about the Program and early childhood development news for families.
When Christine married her husband in 1993, she moved back to Connecticut and began teaching at the Creative Child Center at UConn Health. She was a Lead Teacher with toddlers in her 4 years there. Christine loved working in a team-teaching environment and the UConn position was her first experience preparing a program for accreditation with the National Association of Education for Young Children.
Upon returning from maternity leave after the birth of her son in 1998, Christine accepted a position as a Master Teacher here at UConn at the CDL. She has been teaching toddlers and mentoring UConn students for the past 26 years. Christine considers it a career achievement to come full circle and return to the model school that sparked her love of early childhood and supported her when most people did not recognize her as a “real” teacher. Two decades later, educators of young children are still not universally recognized or compensated for the very important work that they do. Many students and families come through the UConn Early Childhood Specializations programs each year and Christine considers it an honor and privilege to educate them about child development and the very important first three years of life for growth and learning.
Christine and her husband are proud to be UConn alumni, and both of their children are also UConn grads. They love to attend UConn sporting events and enjoy walks around the beautiful UConn campus. Christine is an avid reader and enjoys hiking with her husband and their dog Bennie.