Before Treatment -
Summer 2012
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During Treatment -
Fathers Day 2013
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Family Vacation -
Summer 2017
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About
The oldest of three children, I was fortunate to have been raised by an educator and counselor in a small, college town in the lower Midwest. There was an appreciation for learning and the value of an education was greatly emphasized in our home. Externally, there was the significant influence of strong mentors including my high school calculus teacher, who encouraged me to apply for a summer engineering camp for 30 high school girls in a local college engineering program. At the time, I knew nothing about engineering, but it seemed very promising, so I applied and was accepted into the program. The students were allowed to stay on a college campus full time. I enjoyed this newfound freedom which provided the atmosphere to learn about the various engineering disciplines unencumbered.
What an amazing camp! After learning about multiple engineering disciplines, I decided to pursue a major in Industrial Engineering. I had several reasons behind this decision: (1) I grew up in a very loving home, but as a family of five, we struggled financially on a teacher and counselor salaries. I thought that the earning potential as an engineer would provide financial security. (2) As a young, black teen in the early 1990's, there was a stigma that women, and specifically women of color, were incapable of becoming engineers. I wanted to challenge myself, receive an engineering degree and ultimately, prove the naysayers wrong. (3) An Industrial Engineering degree seemed to provide flexibility in long-term career options as it was the cross-section of people, process and technology. Being able to work across such a vast discipline was something that appealed to me.
Adhering to the plan, I graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a Bachelors of Science in Industrial Engineering. An added bonus, while in college, I met my future husband and within three months of graduation, we were married, relocated to the North Texas and started new jobs.
After three years in Texas, my husband was offered a new job opportunity that our family could not pass. Upon his acceptance, and shortly after the birth of our first child, we were off to Northern Virginia. After a few years in Northern Virginian and feeling stifled in my career, I begin feeling like an engineering degree was not enough. It was at that time that I thought pursuing a Masters of Business Administration degree would give me the boost I needed to get into management. Working full-time and going to school part-time was not easy; it took some time. In 2008, five years after starting, I finally finished my MBA. During that time we were also blessed with the addition of our second child. This is when I felt my career begin to take off. With increasing responsibility and customers who took notice of my performance, I decided to strike out with my own company in the defense industry.
About a year after starting my first contract, the bottom fell out from beneath me. My company was on the losing team for a business contract that we needed to stay solvent. Right after that, I was diagnosed with cancer. I had just turned 38 and had no family history of this type of cancer. I was in shock and the next few weeks were a blur. One day my current contract ended and the very next day I had surgery to have a port installed for the administration of chemotherapy. Those sessions began immediately thereafter. I did my best to keep a strong facade, but was devastated by how helpless and hopeless I felt. All plans were now thrown to the wayside, because I didn't even know if I would survive to see another year. Through prayer and help from amazing family, friends and church members, I rose from this mountain of despair. The help and support that I received from those near and far was instrumental in my cancer survival. It was a very difficult road. I was able to meet and become close with so many cancer survivors via support groups and l struggled mightily when some of them succumbed to this deadly disease. Compounding life struggles along with the fight against cancer can seem insurmountable and the energy needed to find resources can be non-existent. Not very different from other survivors, I sought to better understand my purpose in life. With compassion that I have for others who are suffering and my uncanny ability to research information, I found that my purpose is to encourage survivors to seek help and empower them to get access to the help and services that they need.
What an amazing camp! After learning about multiple engineering disciplines, I decided to pursue a major in Industrial Engineering. I had several reasons behind this decision: (1) I grew up in a very loving home, but as a family of five, we struggled financially on a teacher and counselor salaries. I thought that the earning potential as an engineer would provide financial security. (2) As a young, black teen in the early 1990's, there was a stigma that women, and specifically women of color, were incapable of becoming engineers. I wanted to challenge myself, receive an engineering degree and ultimately, prove the naysayers wrong. (3) An Industrial Engineering degree seemed to provide flexibility in long-term career options as it was the cross-section of people, process and technology. Being able to work across such a vast discipline was something that appealed to me.
Adhering to the plan, I graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a Bachelors of Science in Industrial Engineering. An added bonus, while in college, I met my future husband and within three months of graduation, we were married, relocated to the North Texas and started new jobs.
After three years in Texas, my husband was offered a new job opportunity that our family could not pass. Upon his acceptance, and shortly after the birth of our first child, we were off to Northern Virginia. After a few years in Northern Virginian and feeling stifled in my career, I begin feeling like an engineering degree was not enough. It was at that time that I thought pursuing a Masters of Business Administration degree would give me the boost I needed to get into management. Working full-time and going to school part-time was not easy; it took some time. In 2008, five years after starting, I finally finished my MBA. During that time we were also blessed with the addition of our second child. This is when I felt my career begin to take off. With increasing responsibility and customers who took notice of my performance, I decided to strike out with my own company in the defense industry.
About a year after starting my first contract, the bottom fell out from beneath me. My company was on the losing team for a business contract that we needed to stay solvent. Right after that, I was diagnosed with cancer. I had just turned 38 and had no family history of this type of cancer. I was in shock and the next few weeks were a blur. One day my current contract ended and the very next day I had surgery to have a port installed for the administration of chemotherapy. Those sessions began immediately thereafter. I did my best to keep a strong facade, but was devastated by how helpless and hopeless I felt. All plans were now thrown to the wayside, because I didn't even know if I would survive to see another year. Through prayer and help from amazing family, friends and church members, I rose from this mountain of despair. The help and support that I received from those near and far was instrumental in my cancer survival. It was a very difficult road. I was able to meet and become close with so many cancer survivors via support groups and l struggled mightily when some of them succumbed to this deadly disease. Compounding life struggles along with the fight against cancer can seem insurmountable and the energy needed to find resources can be non-existent. Not very different from other survivors, I sought to better understand my purpose in life. With compassion that I have for others who are suffering and my uncanny ability to research information, I found that my purpose is to encourage survivors to seek help and empower them to get access to the help and services that they need.