Bachelor's of Journalism; Master's of Education

"Kuykendal” is pronounced Kai-ken-doll.
I love being an EL/ESOL teacher here at KIHS because I get to work closely with and advocate for our multilingual learners.
After high school, I had the opportunity to study abroad for a year while living with a family in Mexico, and I am forever grateful to my Mexican family and friends for teaching me Spanish and guiding me along as I discovered the beauty of Mexican culture.
Previously, I taught science at Stevensville Middle School, and before that, I was the media specialist at Grasonville Elementary. In November 2020, my family moved to Maryland from Minnesota where I taught gifted and talented classes in math, language arts, and science, to students in grades two through five.
My undergraduate degree is in photojournalism from the University of Missouri in Columbia. Photojournalism was a perfect fit for me because I love learning, and I love empowering others to find their voice. Photography was a creative way for me to capture what I learned, then to share others’ stories with the world. Everyone has an important story to tell, and now, as a teacher, I work to empower my students to tell their own stories and to learn about the world around them.
After almost a decade-long career in photojournalism covering stories around the world–in Dubai, Iraq, and in Washington, DC–my husband and I changed gears, started a family, and enjoyed a quiet life stateside. I raised our children full time until they started kindergarten, then I became a yoga teacher. Eventually, I got my master’s degree in education at the University of Minnesota in the Twin Cities and started my career in education.
Today, I live on Kent Island with my husband and two children. We enjoy fishing in the Bay together, bird watching, exploring nearby DC, and watching movies at home with our Shih-tzu, Yogi.