Back to School 20 years ago
I was listening to CBC Radio today about a 20 year anniversary of one of their programs and it suddenly dawned on me – I went back to school 20 years ago!
20 years ago, I was 49 and was not happy in my computer drafting job. I asked my sister-in-law Barb if she would coach me on finding my next career move that would be my last hurrah. She guided me to follow my passion for animals. I did a lot of research and discovered an online Bachelor of Science degree in Humane Leadership with Duquesne University and Humane Society of the United States. I did feel that at my age, I could fill a leadership position. So I bit the bullet and decided to go back to school! It took me 6 years. To celebrate my accomplishment, I travelled to Pittsburg in 2011 to walk the stage at Duquesne and receive my diploma.
I started my online studies in September, 2005. Many of my classmates were all involved in evacuation of animals during Hurricane Katrina. What a whirlwind that was, they were all desperately doing there best, but quickly learned how animals were not part of governmental disaster relief at that time. Thankfully, that has now all changed.
Here are some of the courses I took in my major for Humane Leadership:
- Strategic Planning
- Fundraising, Philanthropy & Resources
- Animal Health & Behavior in a shelter environment
- Marketing for a non-profit
- Publicity for a non-profit
- Wildlife in a shelter environment
- Animals and Public Policy
- Nonprofit Board of Directors
- Volunteer Management
In 2007 I took First Strike: Interpersonal Violence and Animal Cruelty. My professor was Randall Lockwood who is the North American expert on animal cruelty issues. I delved into all the course materials on the connection between animal abuse and violence. This is referred to as “the link.” My text book for this course was “Child Abuser, Domestic Violence, and Animal Abuse: Linking the Circles of Compassion for Prevention and Intervention.” This course was my “light bulb moment.” I wanted to work in this field. During this course I read about the Forget Me Not Farm in California which became the spark for Kindred Farm.
In 2010, Christine Mayworm joined me in developing Kindred for Kids for at-risk children. During Covid, we realized that not just “at-risk” children were in need of Mental Health Wellness but also other children, youth and adults. We opened up our farm to people of all ages that would benefit from being with animals and nature.
Thank you for being on this 20 year journey with me. It’s been better than a roller coaster ride at the PNE 🙂
