My Journey

Background

I grew up just east of Fayetteville, NC, in a community now called the town of Eastover. Despite the fact that I was raised in a military town, my family is actually originally from the area. I was always surrounded by military life, however, and it helped shape my worldview.

In high school, I always excelled at writing and other forms of communications. After graduating in the top 1% of more than 200 students of my class, I majored in Mass Communications at Campbell University, in Buies Creek, NC. Because my husband was going to be a U.S. Army officer, I knew that the first part of my career would be affected by how often we would have to move. Therefore, I strived to take a more varied group of courses to broaden my knowledge. I also gained much work experience as a reporter of the local newspaper while attending college.

After College

When we were told that our first duty station would be Ft. Hood, Texas, I wasted no time sending résumés to the two local newspapers in that area. On our fifth day in Killeen, Texas, I began working for the Temple Daily Telegram. After a month there as the education beat reporter, the managing editor asked me to move up to the copy editing desk. I greatly enjoyed the duties and responsibilities of being a copy editor, page editor, and weekend city editor. Meeting the daily hard news deadline was especially fulfilling.

Meanwhile, I became very active in the church we attended and in the spouses' support group, or Family Readiness Group. At church, I was in adult choir, served as a teacher and helper in children's choir, participated in Vacation Bible School, and volunteered in other positions as needed. In the FRG, I agreed to take on the leader position of the group when the original one was relocated. For this volunteer service, I was awarded the Commander's Award for Public Service.

However, my work schedule was generally 3 p.m. to midnight. Toward the end of my husband's first deployment to Iraq, in 2003, I realized this schedule was not one I wanted to maintain. I had recently reported on the success of the Teaching Alternative Certification Program in Texas. Prior to that, I had not considered teaching because education had not been my major in college, and I did not know there was an alterate route. So, I applied to the program, was accepted, and completed it by July 2004. I taught 10th- and 12th-grade English/Language Arts in the local public schools until we moved again in March 2006.

Relocated to North Carolina

After relocating to the Fayetteville, NC area, I was faced with a choice. The process for transferring my teaching certificate from Texas to North Carolina was not an easy one, and I had no guarantee that we would be staying in NC. Instead, I chose to return to working in the media industry, though in a different way. I began freelancing as a graphic designer and Web programmer. I found that many local businesses were in great need of just basic marketing products at an affordable price. While freelancing, I constantly sought to expand my knowledge, especially in Web programming and general PC troubleshooting. I also continued similar volunteer work in North Carolina as I did in Texas.

New Home: Columbia, SC

Inevitably, we were required to move again. This move was different in two ways, however. First, we only moved a short distance from home. Second, the timing of the move is such that it will likely be our last. My husband plans to complete his military service soon, and we instantly felt so "at home" in Columbia that we plan to stay here. Because of this and my desire to work more closely with the public than freelancing allows, I have chosen to seek full-time employment in the Columbia area. Thus, I created this site to help in that endeavor.

Meanwhile, I am involved with our local church in similar capacities as in prior locations. I am also involved with a community organization and my neighborhood association, serving both of those groups as the media liason and Web designer.