Her Story
About Misty
My career path has been deeply shaped by my personal story. I was a teenage mom who got pregnant the first time I had relations, and I was determined not to become the statistic of a high school dropout. I finished high school a year early, had my son when I was young, and decided the best way to be a good parent was to start working in preschool. One thing led to another from there - I went to Oral Roberts University on a scholarship, and it was just me and my son. I went to school full-time and worked full-time, pushing myself to want to do more and be more. I stayed in this field because I ended up loving the people and finding that there were people just like me that needed help and assistance and guidance, and it shows up in different ways. Now I own a preschool with my husband where I serve as executive director - this is my second preschool in that role. I also work as the Achieve Program Director at Girls Place, overseeing their academic enrichment program and connecting families to literacy programs through partnerships with United Way and the University of Florida. I've created a curriculum called Learn Their Way based on the VARC system, which teaches administration and teachers how to teach children based on their learning styles instead of a one-size-fits-all form of teaching. I'm currently looking to expand into coaching and tutoring as the next transition in my career.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Misty
01What do you attribute your success to?
Honestly, faith and drive. Being able to just continue and believe that God is good and gonna meet me right where I need, so that I can impact and make a difference for families - it really is my driving force. And also making a decision for myself that I'm not gonna let myself down. Those two things together have kept me moving forward through everything.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Education can take you places that you would never imagine it would, and education is not having a title to be able to educate - education is something that happens whether you have a title or not. So don't let not having the right certifications, or you don't feel qualified, just give people information and let them choose to do what they want to do with it. If you have the knowledge, share it. Don't be afraid to share knowledge, because you'll always be rewarded for that.
03What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Pay is one challenge that is very real for everyone in education - from teachers that are underpaid, who really deserve to have sustainability in their own family lives so that they continue their good work. But also, I would say overlapping systems is another huge problem that's not talked about as much. We have taxed our teachers and our administration and our students with so much programming that education is hard to even find anymore. I feel like once we get ourselves back to the root of what education is, and we're able to freely give knowledge to these children that are hungry for it, then we'll have the success that we're looking for. But if we're just looking to test, and to make sure that they can focus and do all these kind of things, then you're not actually educating anyone. You're just running a program. That's why I've created a curriculum called Learn Their Way, based off of the VARC system and the understanding that no child learns the same. This curriculum teaches administration and teachers how to teach children based off of their learning styles, instead of a one-size-fits-all kind of form of teaching.
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