I moved to California the summer before my senior year, settling into a new life in the Monterey Bay/Carmel area. I missed my hometown terribly, but the fabulous weather and beauty of my new state really helped with the transition. I graduated from the University of California with a degree in neurosciences, then started my career in medical devices marketing, moving to San Jose, in the heart of Silicon Valley. I got to travel a lot in the early part of my career, seeing much of the country as I went to medical conferences and visited with physician customers. It was great, but after 15 years, I began wanting to do something different. I took a break from the fast-paced work life in 2002 to earn a master's degree in sociology. At that same time, I met my husband, who was also a student completing a PhD in Psychology. As they say in the movies, "we just knew" and realized we were meant to be. We adopted 2 rescue mutts (both now gone, but we had them with us for 15 and 16 years), my husband finished his PhD, we got married, and I went back into medtech marketing. But I took on a slightly different role, one that was more research oriented. A few years later, we started to feel constrained by the super hectic lifestyle of Silicon Valley, so when a startup offered me a job in North Carolina, we made the big cross-country move. We love our new home, it's been such a great journey for us. And while I still occasionally miss the California weather, I am reminded of how much I enjoy the change of seasons I experienced growing up in Illinois.

We have a 2 year old golden retriever, Teagan, who is now finally past her puppy craziness – I hope to get her trained as a therapy dog. She’s a typical golden, loves everyone and every dog! I continue to work on genealogy research, a lifelong passion of mine, and I enjoy writing, game nights, gardening, cooking and streaming the any fabulous new series.

I’m incredibly grateful to be reconnected with so many hometown friends after moving away in 1979. I’m looking forward to seeing friends from both West and East, can’t wait to catch up!