Catherine Doyle

I have an extremely supportive family that encouraged me to take risks. Both of my daughters were preemies in the NICU, and that was one of the first things that really pushed me out of my comfort zone. Seeing them as small infants overcome and do what they needed to do showed me that I could do the same. That's when I knew I needed to go do more, that I had more to give. Seeing people overcome, seeing people be triumphant, seeing people who had those difficult times and succeed, especially when it was personal within the family, let me know that was something I could do. I also had an extremely supportive husband and my daughters as I continued through school. Different people that have come through my life have shown me in many different ways how to go outside of your box, and one of my first jobs taught me that if you don't go outside of your box, you don't grow. When it finally clicks, it clicks, and then you can just soar when you're ready to embrace it. Everybody's exposed to these types of people who can be major influencers in your personal growth, you just don't necessarily realize you're exposed to it until you really sit back and reflect on it.

Ask questions, be open, you can learn something from everyone, whether it's a student, another educator, or an educator in a different discipline. Just be open to learning. Even though you're the educator, you're still open to learning. You have to be a lifelong learner. There's always something new to learn. It doesn't even have to be someone in your discipline. Just because you're an educator in theater doesn't mean you can only learn from those in theater.

Having a great team with me, both professionally and personally, is essential. I focus on building my team up so that issues are minimal, so we can work together to solve stuff and bounce ideas off of things. At the end of the day, you have to take time for you. If you're not doing that, then you can't give to the other people and roles in your life. Whether that's lunch at the gym or taking off the afternoon when the schedule permits, it's about preventing that burnout. You have to have your team both at home and in the office, and then ask yourself how are you taking care of you. My role doesn't define me, it's part of me. I'm not a 24-7 educator. I'm an educator when I need to be, when I'm in the office, when I'm with my students, but at some point, you have to step away from that role to recharge yourself. You have to trust in your team to know that when you're gone, they can handle things. If you don't have a team that you can trust to do that, then you don't have the right team, or you're not in the right place, or you don't have the right mentality. You gotta believe in the people you've built.