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When One Door Closes…

January 31, 2023

Flashback to January 2014: I was teaching full-time in Lawrence Public Schools as a Work Experience Coordinator in Special Education at Free State High School. I loved the position, specifically as it allowed me to help students in Special Education build vocational skills that held meaning past high school. I enjoyed my co-workers and felt a sense of purpose in helping students and families. However, I also knew if I was to remain in education, I would need additional income. Enter real estate.

That January, we had a snow day and I was on the internet Googling different sources of secondary income. Real estate was one of those sources, so I went ahead and visited a couple of local websites and completed these “real estate simulators”, which gave input on a person's fit in real estate. After meeting with a couple of local companies, I identified McGrew Real Estate as the right company for me. I would not need to immediately leave real estate, but if I found success, I would eventually have to make a decision. Additionally, to stay in education and take on real estate, I would need to reallocate my time outside of my teaching position. Any downtime was about to go by the wayside.

While still in education and stepping into real estate, I spent many evenings getting ahead of potential issues to ensure my clients had a smooth journey through the process. I thought of the worst-case scenarios and leaned on others to help me ensure we were a duck through water. It felt like drinking from a fire hose, but it was rewarding and I was able to expand my knowledge base while considering what was in the best interest of my clients. Every time I had a transaction (which I still do today), my goal was to exceed the professionalism of the other agent. There are some great agents out there, so as I worked on a deal with another agent I admired, I would make note of what I liked about them and work to emulate that moving forward. Still today, I have a list of agents in my head who I look up across numerous companies.

Meanwhile, in teaching, I still loved the relationships I had, but I was becoming burned out and resentful of the education “system”. I knew something needed to change within the system, specific to my students in Special Education, or I needed to step away and focus my energy elsewhere. Anyone who knows me knows I pour as much as I can into what I do and often expect similar of others, especially in education. I operated with a sense of urgency for my students. I certainly didn't lack passion, as I am still intensely passionate about equity in education, food stability, and affordable housing. Thanks to the Pandemic, these issues that had been just below the surface were now very apparent. Additionally, I recognized I wanted to maximize the time I could spend with my children. After two years of the Pandemic in education, I stepped away from education at the end of May 2022 and went into real estate full-time.

Transitioning from education full-time to real estate full-time has been an adventure in countless, good ways. I have always felt comfortable helping clients buy and sell. I keep it simple and work to ensure expectations meet outcomes, all while taking an educator’s mentality through the real estate process. I consider what's best for my clients and refrain from forcing a sale. Truly the best part of my change has allowed me to reinvest my time in my children, taking them to school and picking them up from school, coaching them in youth activities, volunteering my time at their school, and finding new ways to be involved in building a better community. I am just now moving past half a year full-time and I have been rewarded by people who are invested in me and my children. I am truly grateful for those who trust me to help them, their friends, and their family along the real estate journey. Long-term, I envision expanding more and more opportunities to give back to this community.

I went back to visit Free State today after one of my past students had been asking me to visit every week since school started back up (actually, the day before the first day of school, she messaged me to ask if I would visit the school on the first day). I didn’t want to visit, not because I didn’t care about the students, staff, or school, but because there were such mixed emotions in my departure. The best part was getting many hugs and seeing how well so many students and staff are doing at Free State. From last year to this year, I could see a noticeable change in the school culture and there was a different feeling throughout the building.

People often ask me if I’ll go back to education, but I believe that door has closed. I thoroughly enjoy helping people navigate the home-buying process and real estate has allowed me to invest in my children. This career will continue to allow me to find new ways to invest in the community. Long-term, I will find new ways to connect and make a difference in the lives of others.

When one door closes, you find another avenue. Sometimes, it might be a window!