# data[].attributes.body
Mandi Ortwein

Welcome! I am the adjunct professor for this class. I am beyond excited to not only teach but to learn from all of you.
I have been married for 24 years to my high school sweetheart.  We have two girls in college and a son who is 17.  We love to play and watch sports.  We also have a rescue dog that is a pitbull mix named Fenway and a cat named Steel.
I have been teaching for 23 years.  I started my career in the SPARK program in the BASD.  It is a Pre-k program for at risk kids that also includes home visiting.  After seven years there, I moved to Clearview Elementary School where I taught first and fifth grades.  I am currently an ESOL teacher at Fountain Hill where I primarily work with 2nd grade and 4th grade students.   In addition to an Early Childhood Certification and an ESOL Certification, I also recently completed my DEI Certification.
In my "free time", I like to read and do projects with my Cricut machine.  We also spend as much time as possible at Lake Wallenpaupack.
I am so excited to be working with all of you!

# data[].attributes.body
Hey! My name is Brianna, and I am a nursing major in my senior year...yay! I always knew I wanted to help others and doing it through nursing is very fulfilling for me. Originally I wanted to be a labor and delivery nurse when I started, however psych/behavioral health is what stuck with me and I enjoy the most. In my free time, I enjoy exercising, spending time with my puppy Aurora, listening to music, and being out in nature. My favorite color is green and I love pizza (pepperoni:)!

# data[].attributes.body
Hi ! My name is Mena and I'm a Speech-Language Pathology (SLP) major in my junior year. I'm from Stroudsburg, PA, which is about 40 minutes north of here. In the future, I look to work in pediatrics- specifically in early intervention settings with children who have developmental expressive language disorder. While I haven't participated in education field experience yet, I acquired 50 hours of shadowing an SLP in a pediatric setting. Here at Moravian, I play violin in various instrumental ensembles, and I'm in the pre-health club and Greek life. In my free time, I like going to the gym, hanging out with friends, and just being outside in nature. I look forward to getting to know everyone and working with you all this semester! :)

# data[].attributes.body
Hi! My name is Sarah, and I am a history major and also getting my teaching certificate. I am freshman at Moravian from St. Louis, Missouri. My grandparents have always lived in West Chester and I have always loved the area. I have a lot of animals, back home I have 1 horse, 3 cats and 1 dog. And my roommate and I have shared custody of 3 fish and 2 snails. We used to have 3 snails but one died. I am a competitive horseback rider and have been competing all my life. I love my family and friends and enjoy being outside! I also love a rainy day and being inside with a good book! I am excited to get to know all of you!

# data[].attributes.body
Hi! I am Aubrey Pringle and I am a early childhood education and special education major. I am a freshman and I am also on the volleyball team here! I have 4 siblings the youngest being 4. I enjoy to be with my family and friends in my free time and obviously I enjoy playing volleyball. My favorite food is steak, but it has to be cooked medium rare. I love love kids and hanging out with them. My grandfather also attended Moravian!

# data[].attributes.body
Hello, my name is Zachery Irvin, I'm a sophomore and historical studies major. When I came to Moravian my options of what I wanted to do with my major was to either be an educator or go into law. The reasons why I chose Moravian specifically is because of how conveniently close it is to my house since I could just walk home if I wanted. I have been diagnosed with ospergers syndrome since I was young but I don't let that bother as much. What I do during my free time is to read comic books or even draw. I'm the youngest brother and my mother works in Easton for their school district and is excited to see where I might go with this path moving forward.

# data[].attributes.body
Hey! My name is Leveque, and I am a Music Education major in first year at Moravian. I am from Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania but was born in the Caribbean. I am a musician who's primary instrument is the violin. I started in fourth grade and decided to make it about the rest of my life. I live on campus, up north and have been really liking everything so far. I hope to make more friends as time goes on and hope to have a good semester.

# data[].attributes.body
Hello! My name is Jeremiah but everyone calls me J.T. because of my middle name being Thomas. I am a Freshman majoring in Secondary Education with a focus on hard sciences. I am from Phillipsburg, NJ only about a 20-30 minute drive depending on how nice 22 is that day. Hoping to teach at the high school level and back to teach in my old high school. I played varsity baseball and football however baseball is my favorite sport. During my free time I often watch sports or play sports with my family. Fun facts about me is I can play the trumpet, I once had a tiktok following of 100k followers, and I am the first male in my family to ever go to college.

# data[].attributes.body
Hey! My name is Jake Mattes! I am a health science major with an education minor. I hope to become a high school anatomy/bio/chem teacher. I am a sophomore and am on the cross country and track team, I am a distance runner and also do the steeplechase. I grew up around here and have been very familiar with this area, and I don’t really travel much. I prefer staying close to home. I have a beagle named Fielder at home, and my favorite animal is capybaras. I love music, I listen to a lot of genres, but my favorite band is CAS, and my favorite genre is probably metal or indie pop. Both of my parents went here and both of my parents are teachers as well. Other than that I am a little boring, can’t lie. I love being alone but have a lot of friends that I care about and enjoy spending time with as well. Hope we can all get to know each other!

# data[].attributes.body
My name is Benjamin Sharp and I am an alumni in the graduate program at Moravian University. I finished my undergraduate degree in 2019 studying music technology and audio recording. During Covid, I began working as a music teacher in a K-8 parochial school in New Jersey. I’ve enjoyed teaching and I'm looking forward to getting my certification in PA. I’m an avid trombone player and bicycle rider. I recently participated in a bike tour through all five of New York City's boroughs. It is something my dad, uncle, and I have been doing together for the past four years.

# data[].attributes.body
Hello! My name is Marcille (pronounced Mar-seel). I am just starting my graduate program studying Art Education. I received my Bachelor's in Psychology from Immaculata University in 2020, originally with the intention of becoming a school guidance counselor. Graduating college during covid, though, made me pause returning to school, and in the time I've been working, I realized counseling is not the direction I want to go. I grew up in the King of Prussia area, but currently live in Upper Bucks County. I enjoy drawing, painting, reading, writing, theatre, and music. I currently work as a special education paraprofessional at the high school level, and I also work as the drama club director at a middle school. Outside of school and work, I can either be found reading, painting, or participating in community theatre, my most recent credit being Footloose at Playcrafters of Skippack last summer.

# data[].attributes.body
My name is Lauren and I am in the graduate program for prek-12 Spanish teaching. I'm originally from Syracuse, NY but recently moved to Bethlehem. I love it so far and I am always looking for local recommendations! Since I was a teen I have worked at the Y doing afterschool and summer camp programs. I love working with kids of all ages. I graduated from SUNY Binghamton in 2024. A highlight of college for me was studying abroad in Costa Rica. Since then I have done some more traveling, as well as teaching full time as a LTS Special Ed Teacher and English as a New Language Teacher. Outside of school and work (I currently work at a Colombian restaurant on the north side) I love to paint, play guitar, be outside and train Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

# data[].attributes.body
Hello!! My name is Braden Burlew. I am from Effort Pennsylvania in the Poconos and recently graduated from Coastal Carolina University with a B.A. in History. Prior to graduating from Coastal I decided I wanted to go back home to Pennsylvania to become an educator, and decided that Moravian was the best fit for me. Not only did my Aunt attend school here, but I greatly enjoy the Bethlehem area, as well as its proximity to where I live. I decided from an early age I wanted to become an educator to teach students that history is more then just memorization and that it is truly important/ has long term ramifications. In my free time I am a die hard Eagles fan and enjoy traveling. I have been to 10 countries and 3 continents, but want to visit more!!

# data[].attributes.body
Hi there! I'm Shelby Benton. I am just beginning my journey toward getting my Master's in Art Education. I graduated in 2021 with my B.S. in User Experience Design and have been working at PNC Bank as an Experience Designer for 5 years. Over time, I have realized the corporate world is not for me and I've been searching for a greater purpose. I decided there is no better time than the present to chase my dreams of becoming an art teacher! I grew up in Ohio, went to undergrad at Purdue University in Indiana, lived in Chicago for a while, and found my way to Philadelphia where I have lived for the past 4 years. Outside work and school, you can find me playing with my two cats, sewing, thrifting, hiking, being creative, and hanging with friends.

# data[].attributes.body
Hi! My name is Emily and I am originally from Columbia, SC. I graduated from Coastal Carolina University in 2025 with a degree in History, but I have spent the last year doing a gap year and working in the Adirondacks in New York state. So I got a real winter education this past year! I grew up surrounded by the education world because both my parents are teachers and have known that I would follow in their footsteps since I was little. I hope to teach Social Studies at the high school level and inspire the same love for the subject that I carry. I have recently adopted an older cat named Winnie and am loving being a cat mom! I am an avid reader and love reading anything from fantasy to nonfiction. I'm also a big Buffalo Bills fan! Can't wait to meet and work with everyone! :)

# data[].attributes.body
Hi my name is Lauri Tripaldi and I live in Walnutport, PA with my husband and 3 kids. I graduated from Muhlenberg College in 2003 and have since been a photographer and also run an after school art program with my husband (who is an art teacher in the Nazareth School District). I currently teach art at my kids' Catholic school and am working to get my teaching certificate to hopefully teach in a 1st-3rd grade classroom. I spend most of my days and weekends in the car driving my kids to all their sports and activities, but I also love all our pets (1 dog, chickens, ducks, tortoises, and fish), reading, photography, watching soccer, and hiking with my family.