Natalie Hereford

My first motivation is my kids. I have 3 children - a 20-year-old son, a 17-year-old son, and a 13-year-old daughter. Having kids motivates you to be in the know, to know what's going on with the schools and what they're facing, and it gives you a heart to give grace. Not everything happens as quick as you want it, because everything has a process. Secondly is the educators I've been surrounded by. The person I love the most is Shelee Duke, my assistant director at Region 10. She has pushed me in ways that are unbelievable. She's helped me get my TASBO certification and supported my growth. Being surrounded by good people in education, people who push you and believe in you, has been essential to my success. It's also about taking the experiences seriously and understanding that it's not a race - nobody is better than you because they took a different route. You have to stay down until you come up.

Don’t Give Up. Take Breaks As Needed but Never Give Up

Take your time. Nobody else's story is your story. Take your time, learn from experience, ask questions. Just take the experiences serious. And you know, it's okay to leave and come back. It's okay to explore. It's not a race. Nobody is better than you because they did something or they took a different route than you, just stay down. You know, stay down until you come up.

In my field, the most recent challenge is having the experience, but not having the education. This is my 19th year in education, but not getting the education sooner would probably be my biggest challenge. I have the experience. I've actually been told that I have the leadership skills, but not having the education, which is pretty much starting with a bachelor's, it hindered me. It stopped me from getting to the levels that I wanted to reach sooner. It took me getting into education, not being paid a lot, and then leaving to go make more money, and then coming back into it. And it's still the least paid career field probably in the world, but it's just a love for it. It helps because I've started at the bottom as a teacher's aide and continued to go on the business side, and it's rewarding because you see the whole process. Once I have my education behind me, then I can't be told no. I can push forward without being told, you need a bachelor's, you need a bachelor's, you need education. So that's been my biggest challenge.

Responsibility and Providing

Self-Respect

Growth and Betterment

Being A Present Loving and Understanding Mother

Honesty and Realness

Emotional Connection