“Be strong and bold; have no fear or dread of them, because it is the Lord your God who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not fail you or forsake you.” – Deuteronomy 31:6,8
Oh, the hills I have climbed! My mother’s favorite saying is “If anyone, as terrible a child as I was, could end up as well as I have done, there is hope for everyone!” I feel like every day I should continue to apologize to her for all the heartache I caused her as a teenager.
I was not always a dedicated employee who managed four childcare centers, in fact I was a rebellious teenager. I was not very interested in school; in fact, it was a good day when I attended class a couple of times. Driving around the school and socializing with my friends was much more fun!
If you ask my mother what was the happiest day of her life? She will tell you when I graduated from high school, because it was always questionable if that would ever happen!
Fast forward a few years, I got married and had my first daughter, Michelle, in November 1981, followed by my second daughter, Rebecca, in June of 1983. I was working part time as a checker but had never really found anything I was passionate about doing.
One particular day, as I was reading the help wanted ads in the paper, I ran across an ad for an assistant teacher at the childcare center my oldest daughter attended. It sparked a curiosity in me, and I decided to apply for the job.
I started out in the infant room from 2:30-6 p.m. in a part-time position. It quickly developed into a full-time position and eventually I became a lead teacher. I have taught all age groups from infants to school age. However, my favorite is the school-age children.
I enjoyed childcare and I had found something I was passionate about. I worked hard and went to as many trainings as I could to learn all I could about children. I was promoted within the company, eventually becoming the director.
I had been working as a director for several years, but I had no formal education. In 1997, OSU/OKC developed an Early Care Education program for childcare directors. I was the first person in the state to receive my Certificate of Mastery and I graduated in 2000 with my Associate in Applied Science. I then went on to SNU and got my bachelor’s degree in Family Studies and Gerontology and completed my master’s degree in Leadership management in 2012 from OCU.
During this period, I worked for two different corporate centers and in 2005, I accepted the director position working for St. Luke’s Children’s Center. This was the greatest blessing in my life. I was the Director of the downtown location and we added First Kids in 2007, but when we added Trinity, I left the daily duties, and I became the Executive Director. We added our fourth center in Edmond 5 ½ years ago.
I have a different set of responsibilities now, managing four locations, I am proud to lead the best team of Management and Childcare teachers in Oklahoma City and Edmond. Life has plenty of hills to climb, mine were a little higher and a little harder. I know that without the struggles I endured, I would not be the person I am today.
If you know of someone struggling, like my mother did, show them love because no matter what I did, she was still there with the same love in good and bad times.
– Gabrielle Moon, Executive Director St. Luke’s Children’s Centers
