Hello, fellow TOLI cohorts! My name is Marla and I was born in NYC but spent most of my growing up years in Southern California (LA and Santa Barbara). Most of my relatives are still in NY and so, for my entire life, I’ve maintained a close connection with NY (even though I lost my NY accent when I was five!). I have a B.A. in History from Westmont College in Santa Barbara, CA and a Master’s in Modern European History from UCSB (Univ. of CA, Santa Barbara). I also did some graduate work and earned a teaching certification at Clemson University. I have been living for the better part of the last 20 years, however, in South Carolina. I came to visit friends, who had moved here from my hometown in CA in the late 90s, and I ended up staying because the cost of living is much more affordable here. It is here that I met my husband, a native of SC about 12 years ago. I have three beautiful stepchildren, ages 22, 19 and 14.

I teach at a Catholic Prep school in Greenville, where I have been for the better part of 13 years. I teach AP, Honors and CP Modern European history, Holocaust history and World History. I have one Holocaust survivor in my family who is in his 90s and resides in NYC, and my great desire was to see him this month while attending TOLI, but God willing, I will be able to see him again once this COVID mess is over… I have always felt a deep connection to the Holocaust, perhaps because growing up I heard many stories of how most of family escaped Hungary about a decade before the rise of Hitler. And that is probably what drew me most to studying Modern European history in college and grad school. But it has only been in the last few years that I found out about all the Holocaust education available to teachers and that I began taking advantage of this. I also now serve on the SC Council on the Holocaust, which promotes Holocaust education in the state. I am crazy about my fur-babies (I have three dogs: Bella, Chloe and Corky) and love to walk them, snuggle with them, and give them lots of love. I enjoy cycling, hiking, traveling overseas and reading. I have always loved writing as well, but have allowed the “tyranny of the urgent” to squeeze that out of my life too much, and so I would like to pick that therapeutic hobby up again now.