With Passion, Purpose, Empowerment, and Peace. That's How She Did It!

My life has been a series of uncomfortable seasons that have stretched my faith, tested my courage, and required a certain level of self-belief that I already possess all of the tools necessary to step into my purpose fully. Perhaps the most trying of these moments is when I launched the L.O.V.E. Academy. I never worked in the school system, didn't have any background in the education system or know how to develop a lesson plan. It took a bit of self-surrender to say, I can do something about what I don't know, but I can use what I do know and that's mentorship, connection, and building community. It was a terrifying moment because we launched our pilot program the summer of 2025 when federal grants for nonprofits and DEI initiatives were being dismantled across the country. Through a lot of prayer and familial support, I understood that in this space, perfect timing doesn't exist—only perfect preparation. Courage is necessary, but self-belief is essential. If you believe it, you will achieve it.

I was not the most experienced person in those rooms. I was often the youngest. I was frequently the only woman. And I was the one running it. That required something I did not have a name for at the time. Not confidence, because confidence implies certainty and I had none. It was closer to a decision: to trust the process, trust the preparation, and refuse to shrink in the presence of people whose titles suggested they knew more than I did. Sometimes they did. Often, about the specific problem on the table, they did not.

Starting over in a second career was one of the scariest decisions I've made. I was leaving something structured and known in the Air Force and stepping into something that felt almost entirely unknown. My only real exposure to interior design at the time was HGTV. I didn't even know workplace design existed. It hadn't occurred to me that offices, schools, or hospitals could be intentionally designed, or that someone was thinking deeply about how we interact with space every day. That realization changed everything. Once I began to understand the depth of the field, the level of detail, the rigor, and the impact, I knew I had made the right choice. But in the beginning, I didn't have that certainty. I had to trust myself before I had evidence. That transition required me to redefine how I thought about success. I had to shift my perspective on things I had previously believed to be true and be willing to start over in a completely different way. It was uncomfortable and uncertain, but it was also necessary. The version of me before that decision would not recognize who I am today, and I'm proud of that. It reflects growth, but also a willingness to step into something unknown and trust that I could figure it out.

Quitting a full-time job to start freelancing was scary and risky. A million thoughts ran through my head: what if I fail? But then, just as loudly, what if I succeed? Choosing courage over comfort meant walking away from stability and into the unknown, trusting myself without a safety net. It meant betting on my instincts and the relationships I had built through two decades in public relations. Of course, there were moments of doubt, but I also leaned on my values of faith, resilience and authenticity. That decision didn’t just change my career, it forced me to grow beyond my comfort zone. I stopped waiting for permission and started building something of my own, one step, one pitch, one leap of faith at a time.