There was a time when I thought standing in front of a classroom teaching criminal justice was the destination.
It wasn’t.
It was the beginning.
Once I discovered how much I loved teaching, I found myself saying “yes” to opportunities I never imagined when I first walked into a college classroom. Every new role stretched me, challenged me, and reminded me that education is far bigger than the four walls of any classroom.
Looking back, I realize I wasn’t changing careers.
I was expanding my classroom.
Every Door Led Somewhere
One opportunity led to another.
I became the Director of Adult Education, where I discovered that learning doesn’t stop when people become adults. Some students were returning to education after years away. Others were chasing dreams they thought had passed them by. Every one of them reminded me that learning has no expiration date.
Later, I stepped into instructional technology, and once again my perspective changed.
Technology wasn’t interesting because it was new.
It was exciting because it could remove barriers, open doors, and create opportunities for learners who might never have had them otherwise.
It wasn’t about the tools.
It was about the people using them.
Falling in Love with Possibility
People often assume I love technology because I enjoy gadgets.
The truth is much simpler.
I love possibility.
I’ve never believed technology belongs in the classroom simply because it’s available.
I believe it belongs there when it helps people think more deeply, create more freely, collaborate more meaningfully, or accomplish something they couldn’t do before.
That mindset changed everything.
Instead of asking, “What’s the newest tool?”
I found myself asking,
“How can this help the learners in front of me?”
That question still guides me today.
Finding My Place
While working toward my Ed.D., another unexpected opportunity appeared.
I interviewed for a position teaching High School Criminal Justice with Knox County Schools.
Looking back, I can see that I was still searching.
Not for a job.
For the place where my passions, my experiences, and my purpose all intersected.
Every classroom I entered taught me something different.
Every learner helped shape the educator I was becoming.
And every new experience quietly prepared me for a future I couldn’t yet see.
The Classroom Got Bigger
Somewhere along the way, I stopped thinking of my classroom as a single room.
It became conference halls.
Professional development sessions.
Teacher workshops.
College classrooms.
Books.
Podcasts.
Keynote stages.
Research.
Conversations over coffee.
The more I taught, the more I realized that my greatest joy wasn’t simply helping students learn.
It was helping educators discover what was possible for themselves and for the learners they serve.
That realization eventually led me to teacher preparation, where I finally understood why every chapter of my journey had mattered.
I wasn’t just preparing future teachers.
I was helping shape classrooms I would never personally teach in.
And that may be one of the greatest privileges of my career.
Looking Back
If my younger self could see my life today, I don’t think she’d recognize the path.
She thought she was becoming a band director.
Then she thought she was going into juvenile justice.
She never could have imagined becoming an instructional technologist, earning an Ed.D., writing books, speaking at conferences across the country, or helping prepare the next generation of educators.
I’m grateful she couldn’t.
Because if my life has taught me anything, it’s this:
Purpose isn’t usually discovered all at once.
It’s uncovered one faithful “yes” at a time.
Every unexpected opportunity.
Every difficult season.
Every classroom.
Every learner.
Every conversation.
They all became part of the story.
And somehow, every one of them led me exactly where I was supposed to be.