Nina DeBates

I grew up in a small town in the state of Hessen, Germany. After graduating school, I spent six months in London, England, where I worked as an au pair. The time in England encouraged my decision to become a teacher where I could combine my passion for nature and science, the English language, and working with children. I studied at Justus-Liebig University in Giessen, where I received my First State Examination (1. Staatsexamen)/ teaching degree in 2010. I did my teacher training in Krefeld and passed the Second State Examination (2. Staatsexamen) in 2012. I worked as a teacher for four more years before moving to the U.S. to join my husband in Beaverton.

After arriving in Beaverton, I started working as a preschool assistant teacher for a private preschool. In 2017, I joined GIS for the first time as a preschool teacher for the Drachen class. Two years later I took a break from working to be a stay-at-home mom. During the pandemic, my family decided to leave the area for a little bit, and we ended up in Memphis, Tennessee, where we stayed until the beginning of 2023. 

I am very happy to be at GIS and excited about all the changes the last years have brought.