I’ve been there—I’m a first-generation college student who struggled, failed, and fell into the wrong career.

At 20, I floundered, directionless, through core classes at my junior college. Then, my father suddenly died at 51. I didn’t who to turn to for support, so I dropped out—for six years.

In high school, I dreamt of a journalism career, but my parents divorced when I was 15, and they had no college plan for me, financially or otherwise. In fact, I left high school early and finished through correspondence courses. A secretary handed me my diploma.

After my abrupt college exit, I landed work with a skill my mother, a home-trained secretary, taught me when I was young: typing. She said, “If you know how to type, you’ll always have work.”

She was right. A doctor’s office hired me to type medical notes, which grew into a career and even a small business in medical transcription. By age 24, I bought a home, something even my parents had never done.

I should have felt successful. I turned my life around. Yet I was miserable. I’m an extrovert and working home alone was atypical back then.

I didn’t choose this path. Circumstance chose it for me. But I was financially stuck. I couldn’t stop working, and I couldn’t change careers without returning to school. But to do what?

Then, a turning point: I started teaching continuing ed courses on transcription at my local two-year college. That led to a part-time teaching job in the Health Information Management department.

Bingo! I loved teaching. Could I be a college professor? Um, no. Professors need an advanced degree. I had no degree and a messy transcript.

I could not stay in transcription once I found a career that excited me. So I hatched a plan to improve my GPA and get my education completed in record time. I returned to my two-year college and learned that I could “purge” my drop-out term (called academic forgiveness), which nudged my GPA upward. I took more classes, and applied to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (my hometown college) as soon as my GPA improved.

UNLV’s Post-Secondary/Workforce Education Bachelor’s program granted “workforce” credits to working professionals who could potentially teach in that professional field. This boost in credits—30!—enabled me to complete my two-year degree (A.A.) and a Bachelor’s degree in three years. I completed my Master’s degree in two years. After graduating, I was extremely fortunate to have a tenure-track teaching job.

So, I can relate. I've been in academic turmoil. I was stuck in the wrong profession. I didn't know how to turn it around for a long time.

But here's what that experience taught me: Traditional paths don't work for everyone. Systems can be navigated strategically—if you know who to talk to and what questions to ask. And sometimes you need someone who will do the research, make the calls, and build you a roadmap when it’s hard to see the way forward yourself.

That's the support I wish I'd had. I promised myself that if I ever reached my teaching goal, I'd become that support for others. Not a gatekeeper. Not someone who gives generic suggestions. Someone who does the investigative work, finds the alternatives, and gives you concrete tools to move forward—whether you're just starting out or starting over.

That's what I provide now.