My name is Hsi-Ling-Shi Thompson-Burnett.  I am a native of Brookhaven, MS and I have been a resident of the Mississippi Gulf Coast for the past 14 years.  I am the mother of three amazing daughters. I also have the pleasure of being a dance mom and a Girl Scout parent volunteer.  My favorite pastimes are crafting and spending quality time with my family and friends.

I am a graduate of The University of Southern Mississippi with a BSBA degree in Human Resources Management.  After graduation, I became a TeachUp! Intern for Digital Opportunity Trust USA.  As a TeachUp! Intern I was responsible for presenting new ideas to my school’s faculty and staff, training teachers on technology applications used in education, observing teachers and evaluating the use of technology in their classrooms, delegating task to teachers to show the effectiveness and efficiency of technology in education and in our general everyday life, aiding in lesson developments using technology, recruiting new interns, and exposing the community to Digital Opportunity Trust USA by introducing who we are, our purpose, and our goals for the future.

I moved to the MS Gulf Coast in 2008, and began working for Biloxi Public Schools as a Computer Lab Technician.  I enrolled in William Carey University and obtained a 3 year teaching license in Elementary Education 4-8 and Business Education 7-12.  I worked in the school system for 7 years holding several positions (Learning Lab Technician, 4^thGrade Teacher, and Academic Strategist), then I decided on a career change.  After about five years into my new career, I realized that my passion for education was still there and I truly missed working with students on a daily basis.  With that in mind, I decided to reenroll in the educational program at William Carey to become an educator specializing in the lower grade levels.  I graduated from William Carey University with a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education (Endorsements: Pre-Kinder-Kindergarten, Elementary Education K-6, Reading K-12, English 7-12, Social Studies 7-12), and I’m now pursuing my master’s degree from William Carey University in Secondary Education.