Melissa Gagnon
I have had a passion for working with students since I was in high school, working with a local elementary school as a tutor in their after school program, helping coach a softball team, and working as a camp counselor for countless summers! I attended Loyola College in Maryland for both my undergraduate and master's degrees in education. Though I grew up mostly in Pennsylvania, I fell in love with the Baltimore suburbs during my college years and decided to settle here.
I have been teaching at Timonium Elementary since graduating from my Master's program in 2007. I spent one year teaching in our CALS program, and have been working as a fifth grade teacher since 2008. I love teaching the science and social studies curricula at Timonium! Investigating the world around us and delving into our United States history lead us to fascinating discussions and discoveries! I'm excited to delve into the world of teaching math this year as well!
Molly Wilson
For me, teaching has always been the family business. Growing
up the youngest of five children I spent my days playing school with my
siblings (two of which are now teachers); listening to aunts, uncles, and
cousins relate stories from their teaching experiences; and learning patience
and persistence from my father, who taught high school math for 49 years.
I knew at a very young age that I wanted to become an elementary school
teacher.
There was a brief moment during my undergraduate career at
Salisbury University where I thought about heading down a corporate path, and I
graduated in 2004 with a degree in Communications with minors in Marketing and
History. Shortly after graduation however, I realized that my first love
was working with children and I quickly enrolled in the Masters of Arts in
Teaching program at Towson University.
I graduated from Towson in 2006 and spent the next seven years teaching 2nd and 4th grade at Reisterstown Elementary. When this opportunity
arose to transfer closer to home, I was happy to join the Timonium family. I am excited to teach reading and language arts to my favorite age group while continuing my family legacy!
Jeff Verkest
Having
always enjoyed working with children and having a passion to continue to learn
myself, I made the decision to become a teacher while doing my undergraduate
work at Central Michigan University.
After student teaching in a fifth grade classroom in Michigan, it was
time to begin the job hunt. That hunt
took me to several places throughout the country including Baltimore. I fell in love with the area and decided to
relocate to begin the 2007-2008 school year.
Having
an extensive math background, I was asked to teach seventh grade mathematics at
General John Stricker Middle School. I
continued to work there until the end of the 2012-2013 school year and
thoroughly enjoyed my middle school experience.
Life was a whirlwind during my time at Stricker as I met my wife, got
married and we were blessed with two wonderful children.
Eventually
life slowed down a bit and I was ready for another challenge. I had originally sought a position as an
elementary teacher upon graduation and decided that it was the perfect time to
make the move. I was fortunate enough to
be offered the fifth grade mathematics position at Timonium Elementary and have been enjoying this opportunity since 2013.