I had already finished college before I decided what I really wanted to do as a career. I was working at a small college which had a program in special education. I was interested in the program they had called “learning disabilities” (this was 1970). I investigated the graduate program in this area at UNC-Chapel Hill and was accepted into their program. I finished my masters there and began teaching children with learning disabilities. I taught for 32 years in this area (which evolved into having many other areas of disabilities added into it) and retired 2 years ago. I don’t know sometimes whether they learned more from me or I learned more from them. As I write this, I still miss being around children. They keep you young and you always have great, sometimes funny stories to tell.

As a 19 year old single mom from a family of survival workers… I worked to survive. I conistently looked for jobs that “paid more” or had health insurance. However… for some reason i also had the bug to go to college and at 21 was finally able to figure out how to do that. I started in college simply taking general requirements at a community college. At the time i started college I had absolutely no idea what i wanted to do. I kept looking at jobs of course that paid a good living wage to support myself and my daughter on. I considered engineer (laughable if you know me) and at one point underwarter welding lol. Then at 22 years old I went to drug rehab. i’d been using since i was 11. I’d been trying to QUIT using since i was 16. But with advice from my school counselor like just start smoing pot instead of doing cocaine (it was a different era) I didn’t have much luck. Then one day I discovered that there was a thing called drug treatment that could help me. I pulled my little boot straps up, convinced my mom to take care of my daughter and off i went for 30 days. One of the most pivotal events of my life. I was dedicated and worked hard at staying clean. Barely six months into it I had an epiphany. I called the local juvenile detention center and asked to speak with a manager. I got a man on the phone and told him that my passion is kids and how would i got to work there? He told me I should start with a college internship. The very next day I went to my college and figured out how to not only get credit for working at juvenile detention but how to get paid for it. I’ve never forgotten my first day working at the juvenile detention center. I was standing in the middle of the great room in front of the control center supervising a meal and I just simply felt “at home”. And I was. I worked with kids for 15 years after that. And they continue to be my true passion. it’s a demanding and unhealthy field. so i don’t do it anymore. it’s a field that once you begin to lose your faith you must get out of or die a ghost walking the halls of a beuracracy. I didn’t want that. So now i’m kind of struggling with what next? it’s kind of like trying to date after the death of your greatest love. something you know you should do but don’t really have a lot of feeling for.