Flowers have always made me smile. Fresh flowers bring the sweet life, or la dolce vita, to my spirit. Marlene hired me to work in her flower gardens. Along with the other gardeners, I worked landscaping. My job was to deadhead the spent blossoms on the Rhododendron trees. If you’ve ever removed Rhododendron blossoms from branches, you probably got all sticky from the sap. I loved working among the flower gardens, but gardening was not my calling. I was dreaming of becoming a teacher for as long as I can remember.

Teacher! Proud to become a teacher. In addition to teaching, I’ve worked food service in our family Italian restaurant, as a flagger on construction sites, and I was a bank teller for 3 years to pay for college.

Exactly 20 years ago, I graduated with a Ph.D. in special education at the University of Oregon. Since graduation from the doctoral program I’ve had the following jobs in university settings: part time teaching, soft money temporary research grants, lecturer, supervisor, research associate, visiting assistant professor for one year, tenure track (untenured), and tenured positions. Not yet at the rank of full professor.

Becoming a full professor has been a longtime dream of mine. I’m starting a new position as a full professor with tenure at the University of Wyoming as the John P. Ellbogen Professor of Early Childhood Education. Dreams come true.

Mentors have helped me throughout my life starting with my parents and family. She had parents and siblings who also played a role in her becoming who she is. On episode 61 of the BUTTERCUP podcast (click here for access to video podcast), New York Times bestselling author, Anne Hillerman, shared wonderful insights into mentorships. One of the things she shared was how a mentor changed her life when she was an intern at a news service job for 90 days as a copy editor, and then later a reporter at the New Mexican newspaper. There are many mentors who have helped me navigate my professional life. Here are some of those magnificent people who have changed my life:

Washington ~ my principal Gary Benedetti, my mentor teacher Becky Hamm, and paraprofessional Jan Clark (White River School District)
Oregon ~ my professors Drs. Diane Bricker, Jane Squires, and Hill Walker (University of Oregon)
Pennsylvania ~ Drs. Stefano Bagnato (University of Pittsburgh) and Frank Rusch (Penn State University)
New Mexico ~ Cheryl Fallstead (New Mexico Press Women)
Florida ~ Dr. Judy Levin (University of Central Florida)
Nebraska ~ Drs. Dena Harshbarger (University of Nebraska Kearney), Kate Gallagher, Sam Meisels, and Walter Gilliam (Buffett Early Childhood Institute)

Mentorships matter. I am so grateful to these mentors who I admire and look up to, as well as others who have been part of my journey. Thank you to everyone who has helped me discover la dolce vita.

“The delicate balance of mentoring someone is not creating them in your own image, but giving them the opportunity to create themselves.” ~ Steven Spielberg