Who I Am

MY STORY

Everyone has a story. Just like everyone else, my individual background has shaped me into the person I am today.

I’m a mom to five beautiful children (although my first child passed away soon after he was born).

I’m a loving wife to a husband who makes me laugh every day (although this is my second attempt at marriage).

I am also an adamant supporter of civil rights. And when I was 16, I very nearly died in a car accident (requiring that I relearn how to walk).

At the beginning of my adult life, I tried out a lot of different jobs. I was a vet tech. I sold insurance. I studied radiology for awhile.

But none of it worked out for me.

Not because these aren’t great jobs. I’ve known lots of people who have excelled in these various fields. It just wasn’t for me.

The funny thing is, I knew exactly what I wanted to do with my life from a young age. But I didn’t follow this path because other people in my life had discouraged me from doing so. And when your main goal is to satisfy the expectations of someone else’s plans for your life, you end up sacrificing that which would make you most happy.

It took a little bit of time, to be sure. But once I fully admitted that I wanted a career in education, everything came into balance. Everything just seemed to move forward exactly as it should.

I spent most of my adult life working in education in various roles. I taught sixth and eighth grade students. I taught future teachers. I trained classroom teachers. I brought innovation to schools and classrooms. 

After two decades in education, I felt a calling for something new. I accepted a position as Director of Operations for a large real estate firm in Saint Louis. They had lost all of their operations staff, so I was tasked with building the operations team and all of the processes to serve ten agents. As a very organized and dedicated member of the team, I successfully brought in five operations staff and we have grown to over twenty agents. Through a high level of communication, dependability and caring, we have been able to retain the members of our team and continue to grow.

I always felt that I had a calling to education. Now I know that I am doing what I am meant to do. I am a problem solver. I am a creative thinker. I am a person with a very high work ethic who thrives on a challenge and building something amazing.

I tell you all of this because I firmly believe that our backgrounds say a lot about who we are. An individual’s life story is like a window into their soul. It reveals our character, it shows what drives us, what moves us.

I’m no different. And I’m happy to open that window to give you a peak inside. It’s the only way to really understand who and what I am!