When I think about my career path, I am reminded of the extraordinaryy people in my life who have guided me on life's journey.
Let's begin with my parents who provided the solid foundation of a home environment built on love,committment, discipline and support. My first teachers were the best! I am thankful for this gift of love.
Then came my extraordinary teachers in both public and private schools who came to work every day with an abundance of enthusiasm, a deep committment to education and who demonstrated a high level of competency in their areas of knowledge and expertise.
I was very impressed by their love of math, science, reading, english, theology, art, geography and sports. It motivated me to pursue life long learning and inspire others to love learning. And so I worked in the teaching field for 10 years and during this time I became a special education teacher. Mentoring young people was one of the most rewarding things I have done in my entire life.
I grew up in New England in a neighborhood where family life was strong, older adults and grandparents were respected and loved. Older adults were engaged in service through work, family life, volunteer work in various civic groups and church activties. Our lives and communities were truly enriched and became better due to their dedication to service and to those in need.
I had endless opportunties to observe and learn from older adults. I discovered I had a natural interest in aging and the aging process. I loved hearing their life stories and learning from their experiences.
The best part was the gift of wisdom that they shared with me. It was this quality time spent with older adults including my grandparents and elderly neighbors that has inspired me to study gerontology and work with elders in long term care and currently privately as an aging life care manager.