My dad served in the US Army for 30 years which landed our family being assigned to more than seven U.S. Army military posts including international assignments living in France and Germany! Upon returning from Germany, dad was assigned to a post in Moses Lake, Washington where I attended my senior year. Post-graduation, I attended Airline School in Kansas City, Missouri for a Flight Attendant. While still a student, I took the opportunity to interview with the FBI who “would be in touch". I completed Airline School and now was waiting to “receive my wings” so I could fly! Meanwhile, my dad would have another assignment; this time leaving his family behind at a “waiting wives” base while he fought in Vietnam. The base was Schilling Manor in Salina, Kansas where I attended Brown Mackie College for a Paralegal degree. The FBI pursued me twice while in school. The second time, I left Brown Mackie to work at Headquarters for the Bureau in Washington, D.C. but not before becoming the finalist of 50 court contestants where I was crowned Miss Brown Mackie Personality Queen by the Mayor of Salina! While with The Bureau, I was assigned to the Posting Section of the Identification Division for about two years then transferred to the Legal Counsel Division in FOIPA (Freedom of Information & Privacy Act). A major airline reached out to me during my employment with the FBI but I declined their offer. I later relocated to Myrtle Beach, SC working as a Para-legal at a local law firm. Some years later, I moved to my native State; Hampton, Virginia where I found employment working in HR with Northrop Grumman, employing over 23,000 personnel, all employed at one single site in Newport News, Virginia! I moved from the Tri-City area of Virginia to Omaha, Nebraska (go Big Red!) where I had a job offer to re-connect with the FBI but declined to join a world-wide manufacturing and hydraulic company, working in Administration. I was asked and accepted to volunteer working a Mayoral campaign for winning Mayor P.J. Morgan and was appointed to his Advisory Board. Met and married my husband, John; Senator Brad Ashford was our best man. After marrying, I relocated with my husband to Birmingham (Detroit), MI and found employment with Kelly Services having many assignments in Dearborn’s automotive world and other Fortune 500 companies! Being an executive with his company, another move was inevitable. The company's headquarters relocated from Troy, MI to Maumee, Ohio. With this move, my husband gifted me in taking a sabbatical from working! About 1.5 years later, after hanging the last picture in our recently purchased Perrysburg, Ohio home, finding two great churches, doctors, having made more new friends, etc., John was transferred to Los Angeles, CA. I joined up again with Kelly Services working all over downtown LA, Glendale and Pasadena. Do you know the true meaning of “traffic is a parking lot”? It didn’t matter! I LOVED LOVED LOVED living in Cali!! I still have two bottles of Fess Parker’s wine he autographed to us on our 3rd wedding anniversary when we visited his winery! In 1996, my husband was transferred to Wichita. WHAT!?!? I joined him in Wichita, February 1998. Our son Matthew, currently a Senior, was born in July 2001 and has been a Spartan lifer since August 2004 when I started volunteering in EC! I commenced my current position subbing in September 2005, advanced to part-time in August 2006 and transitioned into a full-time role in August 2013. While in a part-time role, I was also employed at the Kansas Health Foundation. I have been so blessed to have lived in Europe twice and work in many regions of our Country, meeting many incredible people, learning and embracing many diversified backgrounds and making some life-long friendships. I have never met a stranger! Probably why Collegiate saw me as a good fit to be the voice of Collegiate as your Receptionist and MS Office Assistant!
|