“Which single word do you most identify with?”

Two hundred people from around the world were asked this same question. Their answers were recorded and made into a book. Ms. Leffel found this book while traveling in New Zealand, an adventure that started with the question, “I wonder, if I travel to my favorite author’s home, will she meet with me?” (The answer was yes!)

Questions lead to the most glorious adventures.

Adventures lead to the most glorious stories.

Stories, when shared, lead to togetherness...

...which Ms. Leffel believes is the most glorious thing of all.

This is why together is the word she most identifies with. Whether it be reading, singing, running, teaching, hiking, traveling, or surfing... the center of all these moments are not the activities themselves, but rather, the humans she’s with.

Over the last six years, since she graduated from UAB in 2017, Ms. Leffel has had the privilege of living with and teaching many different little humans. She first went to Okayama, Japan, where she taught English to kindergartners. Then she lived on a ship for two years, teaching second and third grade while the ship docked in Dakar, Senegal and the Canary Islands. From there she made a home in Kiosga, Uganda, where she taught elementary-aged students. In 2022, she started teaching in the Forest and it is one of her best homes yet! 

Ms. Leffel is so excited to be sharing moments and creating beauty with not only the humans in her classroom but also the wider Brookwood Forest Family. She looks forward to knowing each one of you!!