I guess growing up you would have called me a rhinestone tomboy. Hailing from the best trailer park in North Louisiana, I was raised by a single mother and two fierce grandmothers who promptly put me in my first pageant at age 4 (which I won, thank-you-very-much). From them I learned grit, hard work, and how to fight for what you want. My five boy cousins, along with my brother, showed me how to dust myself off when I fell on my face and not to take those glittery crowns too seriously. I took those lessons with me when I went on to be the first person in my family to earn a bachelor's degree, which I quickly parlayed into a journalism career in Texas (I was also the first in my family to leave Louisiana) before being drawn to nonprofit work. I started BCreative in 2008 to provide an income while I raised my two boys. In 2022, I joined McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin as the Marketing Manager for Development and External Relations. This spurred me to pursue my master's degree, and at 48 years old, I did just that, earned my MA in advertising while balancing career and family. Not only that, but I did it with aplomb (blame it on my Type-A personality). During my time at Moody College at UT, I was part of the prestigious Texas Creative cohort while earning a promotion to Senior Associate Director of Marketing and Communications at McCombs. Now, I'm being asked what's next. I can't really answer that. What I do know is I love telling people's stories in a captivating and visually interesting way. I love the way words can break down barriers and bring light into dark spaces, and am grateful for those who believe the pen is truly mightier than the sword. So, I think something along those lines. We'll see what tomorrow holds ...