: About Me

It seems that I have lived many lives. As a young girl, I was a teller, telephone operator and worked in a fabric shop. After marrying and starting a family, I worked for thirty years in the human services field. Over the years, my work experience included overseeing a home-delivered-meal program, managing a mid-day meal program and assessing the nutritional status of nursing home residents.

My work life evolved to training and educating volunteers at a hospice and for a large religious institution. Along the way I performed secretarial duties for a criminal court judge and worked for the oldest practicing attorney in my county. I concluded my human service career with facilitation of workshops and support groups for caregivers of aging parents and for grandparent caregivers.

Did I mention that in between jobs and raising my children, I obtained a bachelor's degree in religion and a master's degree in gerontology? Those degrees allowed me to take a position as adjunct faculty at the local community college where I teach Religions of the World. My life wouldn't be complete if I didn't teach the college courses. So, I will continue to give my lectures in the classroom during retirement.

The common denominator in my diverse work life is that I was required to write, which I thoroughly enjoyed. In fact, an offshoot of one employer's writing assignments is that I was offered a columnist slot at our local Gannet newspaper. Naturally, I accepted! For eight years I wrote an advice column called "Grandparents." If you Google my name, you may find one or two of my columns. I recently retired from human services work and would like to take up pen and ink again and put my writing skills to work on www.helium.com.

When I say my inspiration is my sisters, note the plural. I have seven sisters and I learned all I know about relationships from them. In this next life I am creating, I intend to write about relationships, families, religion, caregiving and so many other topics. I hope readers enjoy reading my submissions as much as I enjoy writing them.

My passion is ...

dancing

I know too much about ...

relationships

My parents always told me ...

Get out there and make something of yourself.

My childhood ambition ...

to be a Mom

My favorite memory ...

dancing outside to the twinkling lights at a Cajun festival in St. Petersburg, Florida

Why I write ...

It's who I am.

What I am reading/watching/listening to ...

NCIS

My first job ...

in a diner

My best moment ...

graduating from Vassar College

My inspiration ...

my sisters

Education > Non-Traditional College Students Tips for senior citizen college students

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TIPS FOR SENIOR CITIZEN STUDENTS Are you considering enrolling in college although you'll feel like a senior citizen if you do so? Students past their mid-thirties can be a real asset in the classroom. They bring a wealth of experience and background knowledge to class discussions, are highly motivated and usually complete their assignments properly and in a timely manner. Older students will, however, face a few challenges and should prepare in advance to meet those challenges. College students past their prime will need advanced time management skills and the ability to communicate effec...

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