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It brings me joy when I can offer guidance to troubled teens who are experiencing similar situations in the foster care system. I was not always the confident businesswoman you see before you today. I struggled to make my way in the world, and through fate and determination have taken advantage of multiple opportunities extended to me.
1. Job Corps
My first real eye-opening experience was with Westover Job Corps Center in Chicopee, Massachusetts. It was here that I learned what was needed to succeed in business and in life. I learned the education, vocational, and life skills that would form the basis of my work ethic. I committed the Job Corps motto to heart: "Success Lasts a Lifetime with Job Corps."
2. Counseling Workshops
Many years after graduating from the Job Corps program, I took advantage of another opportunity that came my way. I started my career in counseling working at the very same site where I gained my footing. At Westover Jobs Corps Center, I threw every ounce of my energy into learning all I could about the way the program worked. I worked closely with the human resources, education, career development, dorm life, and the recreational aspects of the center. My job as a motivational speaker grew from the combination of my work experience and my life experience.
3. Share Experiences
Over the years, I have designed and produced successful programs and events for national corporations as well as community organizations. As so many good things do, I started small. The conferences and workshops grew as I gained confidence and experience. I started by visiting schools and mentoring individual students. Now, I work with my team to take advantage of the new opportunities being offered every day. We still visit schools and mentor individual students, but we also provide programs for people of all ages, specifically tailored to the event.
4. Value Education
I am grateful that at this point in my life I am able to travel to better share my ideas and inspiration. We visit college and university campuses, juvenile and correctional programs, and leadership conferences. My team has also been contracted for nonprofit, state, and federal programs.
5. Self Discovery
With the success of my team, we always maintain our areas of focus. We encourage teenagers to heighten their motivation and work through their failures. We teach them self-discovery to help them avoid gangs and gang-related violence. My team provides incentives for student leadership by teaching the students to set individual long-term and short-term goals. Our unique method of incorporating parents into our sessions provides lasting results.
6. Communication
In addition to these areas of focus, we also stress the importance of communication and teamwork. Communication on a personal level translates to success on a business level. We teach anger management and life skills to teenagers who have problems with attitude and self-respect. We encourage and prepare all of our participants, child and parent, to pursue college educations.
I wrote All Cookies ain't Sweet with all this in mind. I share my story to show teenagers and struggling adults that there are options and that we are the authors of our destiny and that even though it's true that all cookies aren't exactly sweet, we control how they crumble. There are many opportunities in this life that a person may pass up because they feel as if they are unworthy or incapable of reaching a particular goal. I, too, have felt unworthy and incapable at different points in my life. Now, I help others overcome their problems by providing them with the tools that helped me succeed.
