Personal story
My dad served in the navy for 20 years (1944-1964) and he met my mom on a tour of London, where she worked as a supervisor in an aircraft factory during WWII. I have 2 older brothers and from an early age I loved learning in the public school system. Education was my ladder of opportunity to a meaningful career and lifelong learning has led me to personal and professional success.
A self starter, I paid my own way to London on money I earned from jobs I worked during High School. I attended Birkbeck College in England and returned to attend classes at community college and UMass Boston on my way to a Masters degree from Cambridge College. I followed the working class way to a better life, hard work, perseverance and one foot in front of the other!
I married young and my first marriage did not work out. But, I gained the greatest gift of my life, my daughter Megan and the invaluable lesson of independence as a successful single mom. I came to understand that many of our most important lessons are the ones we would not choose. I also learned that it is not being knocked down that defines you, but how you pick yourself up. I never looked back and I am forward-looking to this day.
I married my husband John, a retired air-force officer with a PhD in nuclear engineering, just as he was working to get a small start up off the ground. He made a success of his business since we met in 2000 and today, we are empty nesters with a family consisting of 4 grown children, 9 grandchildren and 1 great grandchild!