Personal Folio
Eggs are deposited on plants by the adult female butterfly. These plants will then become the food for the hatching caterpillars. Just as the plant will become the food, so is the support I receive in my personal life. The support I receive is that which gives me the spiritual and mental strength to progress through the doctoral cycle.
My life has been rich with family and friends, all of whom have been instrumental in the course that my life has taken and the stages that I have gone through. The metamorphosis has been many years in the making. My husband, Wes, and I have raised three beautiful children - Bryan, Christopher and Amanda. They have been the support system through the years of my academic growth and career. During the early years of their childhood I volunteered my time at their schools. It was during these years that I decided to pursue my Master’s Degree in Secondary Education in Mathematics, launching my first teaching job for seventh and eighth graders. As my children soared through their academics, so did I. As they moved to high school, I followed teaching Mathematics at Sacred Heart Academy. It was at Sacred Heart Academy that I was encouraged by a colleague to enter a new stage of my life and I pursued my Administrative Degree. This led to my moving to St. Dominic High School, where I took the position of Disciplinary Dean. Two years later I was offered the position of Principal. It was during these years that another very close friend encouraged me to pursue my Doctorate and so the story goes and the cycle continues…..
In my spare time nothing gives me more pleasure than spending it with my family at our summer home. It is peaceful and beautiful. I love to listen to the sounds of summer. When I am really brave and ambitious, I attempt to golf.
Along with my husband and children, I have been blessed with wonderful parents, siblings and dear friends. It has been with their support that I have achieved all that I have and continue on with the cycle of change……
"If you want help, help others. If you want trust, trust others. If you want respect, respect others. If you want friends, be one. If you want love and peace in your life, give them away. That's how it works."
~ Dan Zadra
Copyright © 2013. Denise T. Smith. All rights reserved.