About Me
click the grey links to learn more about the stages of my journey!
Hello! My name is Chelsea Wagner. I was born in Kaneohe, Hawaii on the island of Oahu. I attended Punahou School in Manoa, Hawaii for 13 years, before starting my journey with higher education. While at Punahou School I was exposed to many amazing teachers, and more opportunities than most students are fortunate enough to receive. These experiences inspired me, pushed me, encouraged me, and they ultimately helped to set me up for success both during and after my time at Punahou School.
After graduating from high school, I acted on my desire to explore my world and to branch out of what I had known for the past 13 years. Because of this, I applied to Western Washington University (WWU) in Bellingham, Washington, for my first year of college. While there, I pursued a degree in French language, and Linguistics. Though I ultimately chose to return to Hawaii to complete my undergraduate degree, my experience in Washington, and the friends that I made, helped me to start to understand differences in cultures and how that can affect education.
Once back in Hawaii, I attended the University of Hawaii at Manoa, and pursued a Bachelor of Arts degree double majoring in French Language, and Second Language Studies. Through the University of Hawaii at Manoa, I participated in a study abroad program in France, during the summer of 2013. For the month of July, I lived in Annecy, France and attended classes at the French Institute of the Alps (IFALPES), where I took French intensive courses taught by native teachers while living with a host family. This experience gave me the opportunity to better my French language skills, while also expanding my knowledge of the world. My experiences throughout my education with teachers from other parts of the world, and my learning processes throughout high school and college inspired me to want to inspire students, and help change lives, the way that my life was changed when I was in school.
From October 2014 to 2016, I worked with Teach for America as a corps member. I was selected from a pool of applicants to be a leader in a low income, high-need school. I taught sixth grade English language arts and social studies at Wheeler Middle School in Wahiawa, Hawaii, and in my second year was took over the position of social studies department head. Through this role, I actively worked to make Wheeler's social studies department as strong and cohesive as possible. While teaching at Wheeler Middle School, I simultaneously worked towards my Master of Science degree in Secondary Education from Johns Hopkins University, ultimately earning it in May of 2016. After a successful completion of my Teach For America contract, I moved to San Diego, California when my husband got stationed at the Naval Base downtown. I now work with Achieve3000 as an Implementation Manager, where I help to support teachers on how to use this amazing program to help improve literacy in our students.
After graduating from high school, I acted on my desire to explore my world and to branch out of what I had known for the past 13 years. Because of this, I applied to Western Washington University (WWU) in Bellingham, Washington, for my first year of college. While there, I pursued a degree in French language, and Linguistics. Though I ultimately chose to return to Hawaii to complete my undergraduate degree, my experience in Washington, and the friends that I made, helped me to start to understand differences in cultures and how that can affect education.
Once back in Hawaii, I attended the University of Hawaii at Manoa, and pursued a Bachelor of Arts degree double majoring in French Language, and Second Language Studies. Through the University of Hawaii at Manoa, I participated in a study abroad program in France, during the summer of 2013. For the month of July, I lived in Annecy, France and attended classes at the French Institute of the Alps (IFALPES), where I took French intensive courses taught by native teachers while living with a host family. This experience gave me the opportunity to better my French language skills, while also expanding my knowledge of the world. My experiences throughout my education with teachers from other parts of the world, and my learning processes throughout high school and college inspired me to want to inspire students, and help change lives, the way that my life was changed when I was in school.
From October 2014 to 2016, I worked with Teach for America as a corps member. I was selected from a pool of applicants to be a leader in a low income, high-need school. I taught sixth grade English language arts and social studies at Wheeler Middle School in Wahiawa, Hawaii, and in my second year was took over the position of social studies department head. Through this role, I actively worked to make Wheeler's social studies department as strong and cohesive as possible. While teaching at Wheeler Middle School, I simultaneously worked towards my Master of Science degree in Secondary Education from Johns Hopkins University, ultimately earning it in May of 2016. After a successful completion of my Teach For America contract, I moved to San Diego, California when my husband got stationed at the Naval Base downtown. I now work with Achieve3000 as an Implementation Manager, where I help to support teachers on how to use this amazing program to help improve literacy in our students.