Sarah Simmonds

Biography

I’ve spent almost my whole life as an avid reader and writer. I especially loved reading fantasy stories, then imagining and writing some of my own. I took this love to UC Davis, where I studied Studio Art and Comparative Literature. I spent a lot of time helping my peers with writing and editing their papers, and I developed a love for editing other people’s work along with writing my own.

I found myself drawn to teaching, so I began working as an art teacher part time which I found really rewarding. However, I wanted to work with older kids and teenagers in English which is what led me to AJ. I’m really passionate about improving reading comprehension and writing and I love AJ’s strategies for close reading and analysis.

In my free time, I love reading – some of my favorites are Jane Austen’s Persuasion, Dante’s Divine Comedy, and There Are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak. I also love to paint and do it
whenever I have the time.