Past: 

I was born and raised in the San Luis Valley in south-central Colorado; this is where I now feel the most at home. My father came from a very impoverished, southern background. He was a high-school drop-out who earned his GED in the Army. My mom was raised on a local farm in an upper-middle-class family and had obtained her Elementary Education degree before marrying my dad.

 

A Rough Start. When I was born, my family was in situational poverty. My mom had decided to stay home to care for my older brother and me while my dad worked long hours at local lumber yards earning minimum wage(~$3.35 per hour!) When I was 5, my dad had had enough of working so hard just to barely get by. So, he took his knowledge of construction along with his employee discount on building materials and my parents started buying abandoned houses in Alamosa, remodeling them, and renting them to other low-income families. He still worked his minimum wage job during the day, but we often worked on these houses until late into the night. It took a few years, but this business slowly brought my family out of poverty and into a middle-class lifestyle. By the time I graduated high school, my parents owned ten rental houses, and we finally had a comfortable living to show for all of our hard work.  

 

Starting out on my own. When I graduated from Sangre de Cristo High School in Mosca, the "valley" as we call it, was the last place I wanted to be. So, I pursued my dream of living in San Diego, and to appease my mom, I attended a Christian college there. The biggest things I learned that year was just how expensive it was to attend a private, out-of-state college and just how little I knew about what I wanted to do with my future! 

 

So, after completing my first year of college, I quit school but stayed in San Diego and took a full-time job as a receptionist for a small excavation company. I worked there for about a year. During that time, I realized that without an education I would likely end up in a dead-end job, as my receptionist position was. Further, I learned that I didn't love the city as much as I had once thought. 

 

Starting Over. Humbly, I came back to "the valley" and enrolled at Adams State. I completed a bachelor's degree in Business with an emphasis in Small Business Management and minors in Marketing and Management. I chose this degree because I had started managing my family's rental houses and had become a partner in the furniture and appliance store my parents had bought. Shortly after graduating, I met and married my amazing husband who farmed with his parents on their generational farm. He struggles with dyslexia so he has always hated school, but he is by far the smartest person I have ever met.

 

In my management position at the furniture store, I quickly realized just how stressful managing employees could be, especially young adults who had not been taught soft skills such as professionalism and work ethic. In response, I resigned from the furniture and appliance store and took a bookkeeper position at a local bank. In this new position, I quickly that not only had many young people not been taught soft skills, they also knew little about handling money and were consequently making mistakes that were sacrificing their futures.

 

Recognizing the Gift of Struggle. It was then that I began to appreciate how much my dad had taught me about hard work and sacrifice, and how much my mom taught me about handling money wisely. As I reflected, I realized that just knowing how to work hard and how to manage money is foundational to a successful life regardless of one's level of education! These two factors are how my family and anyone in a capitalistic economy can raise themselves out of poverty. Regardless of one's level of education, anyone can prosper with just a unique skillset that is in demand and a knowledge of how money works. It saddened me to see so many young people unknowingly make choices that were drastically hurting themselves both in the moment and even more in their future. Worse yet, many of these choices had dreadful consequences for the lives around them including spouses and especially children. So, I decided to be part of the solution and become a business teacher. 

​

Starting Over...Again! To accomplish my new goal, I returned to Adams State and obtained a Master's in Secondary Education with an emphasis on Business Education. I was lucky to receive a full-ride scholarship for this degree as I was still paying for my undergraduate degree. After graduating, I went to work at a local school district with a high poverty rate. At first, this job was challenging but I thrived on helping my underserved students excel. However, their poverty was not like the one I had experienced. Many were coming from generational poverty. Thus, to better equip myself to help my students, I began to research the causes of poverty and how best to help people escape its torturous grip. I learned that much of generational poverty is rooted in poor education. Having grown up with a dad who had a poor education and walking beside my husband in his experiences with dyslexia, I could empathize with my students. I applied all I learned to help my students in their unique challenges in hopes that my efforts would help them achieve greater success in their futures. For many, my and their other teachers' efforts made a world of difference. 

​

Sharing my Gifts. In teaching, I had found my true passion: helping others achieve success! However, teaching is a very demanding job, and after seven years, I found that I was becoming burned out and missing key moments in our young sons' lives. I needed a change of pace; something had to give. 

 

Addicted to Learning. So, I started my doctorate in Organizational Leadership and Development as a way of keeping myself learning and growing. This led to the opportunity for me to teach in the School of Business at Adams State University. At first, I was reluctant and nervous about teaching again, but I soon found that I loved working with the students. Most of them appreciated the work that I put into the classes and I was surrounded by people who also had a passion for student success. 

​

I taught in the School of Business for six year and then received a promotion to an administrative position as the High-Impact Practices Coordinator. In this role, I had the privilege of helping my fellow faculty by implementing the 11 educational practices proven to enhance student's success. However, I found that I missed working directly with the students and that my role was again taking me away from my family. As such, I resigned and returned to teaching business to middle and high school students.  

​

Present: 

I now teach middle and high school business at the school where I graduated and where my boys attend. Additionally, my husband and I run several businesses: we own and operated our farm where we raise hay, grains, and potatoes; we own and manage the rental houses business my family started when i was five, and we help our older son manage his flock of sheep. We have two teenage sons: 17 and 13. They are the greatest adventure of my life and I adore them both. 

  

​

Future:

My husband and I wish to continue our current lifestyle for the next 15 years or at least until our younger son graduates.  We hope that, by then, our oldest will be ready to come back and help manage our farm and give my husband and I little more flexibility. 

 

Eventually, I would like to pursue a career in politics. I am dream that one day Americans will truly unite and become all that this country has the potential to be. I don't know what level of office I will pursue first: county, state, or federal, but I ultimately would like to represent Colorado in Washington DC and help lead this nation into a reality where all persons, regardless of background, race, or creed, are respected and represented in our country. I know we can do better, and I feel the time is coming to pursue this possibility.  

​

Pictures of my life:

Below are pictures of things that make me happy.

1. The first is an older picture of my family on our farm; it is one of my favorites because it shows each of our personalities.

2. To the right is of our dog, Domino, who loves to see and be a part of what is happening on the farm.

3. Next is a picture of my sons and I riding our horses at the The Great Sand Dunes, a national park near our home. Our family loves our horses; they are members of our family. 

4. The following is of my husband and I when we were both firefighters. We both value service to our community. This picture was taken at a training where our department burned an abandoned house in our county;

5. The next is a rock stack near the ocean, which demonstrates the peace and balance that I pursue in my life;

6. After that is a picture of our two sons at Toon Town in Disney Land when they were young. It is probably the best illustration of their power these two possess as a dynamic duo (when they choose to get along!)

7. The final pictures is of my husband and I getting on a ride at Legoland. It shows the fun we are having in this crazy ride we call life!