Exploring A New Chapter
This post explains my approach to career and life transitions I am currently experiencing, and the motivation that sparked WhiteSpace Design Co.. I’m glad you’re here to support me as I turn the page to start a new chapter. Thank you!
-
The younger years that shaped who I am today. (Some context-setting.)
-
Early career paths - from my teens to early 20’s.
-
Career and life paths from my 20’s-40’s.
-
Some ideas of what’s to come in this next chapter…and many unknowns - which is part of the fun!
Chapter 1: The Early Years - From the Beginning
Resilience has been a recurring theme in my life, starting the day I was born. I faced my first challenge the day I was born. My mom’s doctor anticipated that I would be born on April 1st, yep, April Fools Day - but that was not my plan. I couldn’t wait to enter this world and start living - I surprised everyone by arriving a few days early, on March 29th. Apparently I was a dancer, even in the womb, and twirled around to the point of having the umbilical cord wrapped around my neck. Though I started life a little blue, I emerged ready to embrace challenges.
From the start, dance was a constant in my life. By age two, I was taking lessons, and by 12, I became a dance teacher for young children. Dance taught me creativity, discipline, and the joy of learning step by step. It also gave me a sense of belonging, with friendships rooted in a shared passion. Those early experiences shaped my love for teaching and fostering connections.
In contrast, my school experience wasn’t as inspiring. Socially, I thrived. Academically? Not so much. I had no real understanding of what we were learning, why we were learning it, and how it would be relevant in my life outside of school. I skated by on passing grades, often forgetting about projects until the night before. My mom, always pushing me to apply myself, once chose Little Women as a reading assignment for me (per the teacher’s direction). I hated reading at the time, so I skimmed the first and last pages, wrote a half-baked book report, and got caught. The teacher made me redo the assignment with a different book—a lesson in effort and accountability. It’s ironic now that I’m an avid reader and writer! Of course, you’re always going to be more invested, when you get to choose what you’re reading and writing about.
Chapter 2: Curiosity & Exploration
I’ve always been a dreamer and a doer, driven by determination and a love of unconventional paths. If someone doubted me, I’d prove them wrong. Adding the word “yet” to challenges became my mantra: I don’t know how to do that... yet. When you add ‘yet’, at the end of a statement, you’re priming yourself for a growth mindset by being hopeful and optimistic - there’s still a possibility.
When it was time to consider what I would do after high school, I recall my mom saying college might not be for you - you might not get in with your grades. I was accepted into The Ohio State University (OSU), which was my top choice. My heart was set on a creative field, though my parents weren’t thrilled. I explored graphic design and merchandising before discovering my passion for residential interior design. My time at OSU was transformative. I built lifelong friendships, honed my creative instincts, and embraced the possibilities of design.
My first post-college job was with a design studio in Stowe, Vermont. It was a risk—I didn’t know anyone there and I had been to Vermont only once before for a Thanksgiving family ski trip, but that was it. Career-wise, I loved the idea of being a ‘designer’, and developed some great skills during this time. I learned how to be organized as a project manager. I learned how to clearly communicate with contractors, architects, and clients. I learned how to provide excellent customer service - ensuring we were meeting everyone’s needs, and following through on decisions, orders, services, etc. There were some frustrations with this position though; I was starting to realize that I had very few opportunities to be creative and have my input on projects. The reality was, I was more of an assistant to the clients than a designer - they would come to me with exactly what they envisioned and wanted, and I sourced the materials, hired the subcontractors, and coordinated the projects. After about 4 years of doing this work,I started looking through our portfolio of projects and realized it most certainly wasn’t my designs, there weren’t projects that I was proud of. So, I started losing my passion and drive for design work, and realized I needed time to figure out what I was going to do next. This sparked a turning point. I left the field to reevaluate my path, finding inspiration as a nanny. Working with children reignited my love for education, and I decided to pursue a degree in Elementary Education.
Chapter 3: Discovery & Becoming
I was determined to be the teacher I never had—one who truly saw and valued every child as an individual, fostering a supportive and inclusive community of lifelong learners. My goal was to make learning fun, engaging, interactive, and deeply personal. Early in my teaching career, I became passionate about integrating Universal Design for Learning (UDL) into my practice. With a background in design, where universal design principles shaped the spaces and products we created, it felt natural to apply the same approach in education. Reflecting on my own school experience, I often wonder: If my teachers had clearly explained what we were learning and why, connected lessons to my life, provided diverse ways to engage with content, and offered creative choices for demonstrating understanding, would I have thrived as a student? I think I would have soared as a student. I want every learner to have that opportunity.
I accepted my first job offer as a Kindergarten Classroom Teacher in a small rural school in northern VT. I absolutely loved being in the classroom, working with this age group, and designing engaging lessons - I couldn’t get enough of it. I continued this for the next four years, and was encouraged to pursue more leadership roles, so I became a PBIS Coach, Literacy Coach and a 6th grade Literacy Teacher in a different school in the same district. I completed my Masters in Educational Leadership with an endorsement in Director of Curriculum & Assessment, while I taught full-time. (As I’m taking the time to reflect on the career journey, I’m exhausted just thinking about how much I was able to do back then! I’m so glad I did all of this back then, but it’s not something I would want to do at this stage of the game. It just goes to show we are SO much more capable than we think we are - we can always push ourselves just a little bit more than we think we can.)
I became an Elementary Principal at a much larger school in central VT. The first two years were exciting, fulfilling, and productive. We navigated the pandemic really well with the resources and capacity we had at the time. Unfortunately, coming back to in-person teaching, learning, and leading after the pandemic has been extremely challenging. While I’m proud of the impact I made, the principal role began to dim my light. I spent more time in meetings than classrooms, and the joy I once felt was fading. Thankfully, a perceptive superintendent recognized my passion for systems like Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) and Universal Design for Learning (UDL). He offered me a role as the district’s MTSS Coordinator—a position perfectly aligned with my skills and interests. Sometimes you need someone else to help you get unstuck. I have been studying, practicing, and implementing all of these concepts/frameworks over the past 14 years, and any one of my family members or former staff members will tell you that I can (and will) talk non-stop about these topics.
Chapter 4: Turning the page on a new chapter
This fall felt heavy at work. Really heavy. I knew it wasn’t sustainable, and that something would need to change. I just wasn’t sure what or how I needed to change. I also was comfortably uncomfortable - a combination of fear, embarrassment, laziness, confusion, frustration, and exhaustion. All of which is not the ideal recipe for making sound decisions. Sometimes you don’t know or can’t see how bad a situation is, until someone with a different perspective, or someone who’s not directly in the day-to-day grind, can point it out to you. I was overwhelmed and stuck in a cycle of exhaustion and frustration. Stepping into the MTSS role gave me the push I needed to refocus. Working from home allowed me to reflect, recalibrate, and rediscover my motivation and get clarity. You know it’s a good sign when your first reaction is to smile, let out a long exhale, and say out loud how relieved you are to have an opportunity to go after everything you want, and deserve. I am able to move forward with deep appreciation and gratitude for all the different life decisions and experiences that got me to this point in my career journey.
Now, I’m building WhiteSpace Design Co. as a way to combine my love for design, education, and intentional living. The journey hasn’t been linear, but it’s taught me the value of staying curious and embracing change. In future posts I’ll be sure to share details of my experience building a brand and a business in the service industry. The idea behind WhiteSpace Design Co. is stripping away all the peripheral stuff that clutters our lives and distracts us from focusing on the things that matter most to us.
Path to Professional Fulfillment
In a previous blog post, Fresh Starts, I explain an approach to embracing new beginnings - starting with finding your motivation, getting clear on your current reality in the clarity phase, setting goals and action planning to shape your direction, and getting inspiration to take your first step towards a new beginning. Below is an example of how I applied this approach to creating an outline for my next chapter. Click the graphic below to get your own FREE blank template to start building your fresh start plan.
what chapter are you in, or beginning?
This journey has taught me the power of reflection, resilience, and leaning into change. I’m energized by the possibilities ahead and committed to building a life filled with balance, creativity, and purpose.
If you’re navigating a transition, know that even small steps can lead to big transformations. Add a comment below, or fill out the email form below to share with us what life transition you’re working through right now.
And if you’re looking for some support along the way, I’m here to help you get closer to your goals. Let’s talk about how you can create the life you’ve always dreamed of—schedule a free 30-minute consultation today! We’ll move forward together, one step at a time.
My goals are going to require a lot of time, energy, patience, and persistence - and I’m ‘all in’ for all of it. Let’s go!
