From Passion to Profession

In 2009, I got a call from my oldest son who was at a wrestling tournament. There was inclement weather so he advised me that I could watch his matches online instead of braving the elements. I clicked on the link to watch the matches and was amazed that I could watch each match online in real time. As I watched his matches, I asked myself if this type of streaming technology was being used at his school.I immediately began to research and found out that his high school was not using streaming technology.The next week, I got approval from the school's athletic director to create a website to showcase the athletic activities at my son's school. The site became my passion. In three short years, the website had over 1 million views and was ranked #62 in the country for high school sports sites. 
Two years into my project, I was contacted by a company called Amateur Sports Network to create videos, add writing content, and to take pictures for Online high school sports throughout the nation. This took me on an adventure to North and South Dakota State Universities to the Amateur Wrestling National Championships to stream the event Online for the Asics/Vaughn Missouri State Wrestling team.  Asics/Vaughn was so impressed with our work that they decided to have our team video the championship matches for instant replays on calls.


I began to spend more time creating videos, taking pictures and building websites for amateur sports and for schools in general across the country. I taught myself how to build and brand these entities to increase the number of website visits. 
At the time, I was working as a Teacher Assistant in a suburban school district. I loved teaching and learning but also enjoyed technology. That is when I decided to make my passion my profession by smashing my love for education and technology together. I returned to the University of Central Missouri and received a Master's degree in Educational Technology. Once the degree was completed, I worked as an Instructional Technology Specialist at a charter school in Kansas City, Missouri.


Currently, I train over 2,000 employees how to use educational software within a school district of 15,000 students. Routinely, I walk in with a smile on my face. I am so happy to do what I love daily. It is almost a crime to call my career work. Every day I have the ability to change the way digital immigrants and natives integrate software into their classrooms and boardrooms. My passion has become my profession.
If you currently are working in a position that only fulfills paying your bills, don't give up. Keep striving to do what you love. Find ways to add your passion into what you do currently. Take some of your free time to explore new careers. Design your thinking to find that profession that excites you and if you don't find that career that you are passionate about, create your own.

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