Parise Shepherd

I attribute my success to my faith in God and being a mother. I was married for 22 years before my husband had a massive heart attack and passed away. I've been celibate ever since then - I don't sleep around, I don't date. We have two adult sons now, and they've watched me. My oldest son has made it his business to graduate with a psychology degree because he wanted to be somebody, just like I wanted to be somebody. I have two masters, two associates, and I'm working on my doctorate. I want to be somebody. My mother didn't have to tell me to do it, my father didn't have to tell me to do it. I'm doing everything I want to do, and my son is doing everything he wants to do for his life. I tell him we're born, we live, and we die. Think of what you want to leave behind, because you're going to die. It's automatically going to happen for all of us. We're all gonna have a funeral. What are you gonna leave behind? What do you want people to say who you were? Everything I've been experiencing for the last 10 to 15 years has been miraculous. I prayed about things, and they happen. When God puts His hands on you, you tend to experience things that are out of this world. I'm on a mission, and I don't know what the mission is, I don't see the staircase, I'm just walking. Our lives are already written, so I wake up, and whatever's written for this day in that book, I'm gonna do it.

I would tell her to have thick skin. Nothing's ever personal. Everything is just business. Always look at the big picture and be open-minded. You have to want to have the passion, first and foremost, and understand what you're getting yourself into. It's never for the benefit for yourself, it's for the benefit of the community and people who live in the community. It's a leadership position that allows for you to bring your character. What you would do behind closed doors, you're able to do for the people. So, for one, you have to be a good person of character, and have love, and have God in your heart to make good decisions, because God is all in me, and that's the reason I got voted in by people I never knew, and they never knew me.

The most important values to me are faith, character, and love. I have to have God in my heart to make good decisions. I believe that what you would do behind closed doors, you should be able to do for the people. You have to be a good person of character and have love. I believe in praying about everything and trying to stay focused on what the end of life is gonna be like for myself, making sure that I make it into the pearly gates by trying to do as much as I can to do what God would do. Going to St. Elizabeth Catholic School from kindergarten through 12th grade had a lot to do with my beliefs. My parents took us to church, and that's what parents should do, because once children grow up and go through things, you gotta know how to pray, not react. You have to have faith - know He's gonna do it, and expect for Him to do it. The key is once you pray about it, you have to forget about it and trust God. If you keep thinking about it, that's telling Him you don't trust Him. Faith is the key. I always try to leave people with a good message, even if I'll probably never see them again. I want to leave a legacy that people will remember.