My aha moment came after a 17-year career in nursing. I became involved in a car accident that left me disabled, in pain, and unable to continue nursing. After crying for a month, I realized that this was a new beginning for me. I had a 12-year-old daughter and I thought, ‘I can’t let her see me just get in a hole and not crawl out. I have to set a better example for her.’

I went back to college to become a social worker. I can’t say that every position I’ve held as a social worker has been better than being a nurse. But I’ve touched more people’s lives than I think I could’ve ever done in nursing.

As a post-adoption social worker, I would get information from old files, for people who are trying to find out about their birth and adoption. Most of them call me back and tell me that they’ve found their birth parents. That is the most rewarding.

My aha moment was knowing I was here to do more for the human race. It made me look at things in a positive sense. I try not to even entertain the negative part. There’s always some good to whatever’s going on, so I look for that.

I also wanted to show my daughter that she could succeed at anything she put her mind to. I graduated social work school the same time she graduated high school.

My attitude is, ‘If this has been done before, I’ll do it. If it hasn’t been done before, I’ll be the first one to do it.’ Now, that’s her attitude, too.