Deb's Ideas
Introduction
Introduction
I was born in 1958 in a small town in central Wisconsin, with a population of around 3,000, moving to Green Bay, Wisconsin, when I was 4. Growing up, I spent a lot of time with family – my parents, brothers and sister, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins were all very close. I can speak from various points of view, of being the eldest of seven children, of being a female growing up in the 1960s and 1970s, of being a minority as a female in the Army, or of being a single parent and then becoming the wife of another soldier, of becoming a doctoral student at the age of 60, and of taking care of aging parents. Also, along the way, I did decide to start a family. I have a wonderful husband, daughter and son-in-law, sons, grandchildren and greatgrandchildren who have supported me while on this journey. To this day, we still spend as much time as we can doing things together. In 1977, when I decided to enlist in the Army Reserve at the age of 19, the female population of the military was less than two percent. So, at the age of 19, deciding to join the Army Reserve seemed to be a great opportunity for me. Returning home after being gone to basic and advanced individual training for four months had changed me for the better. Once I returned to mostly civilian life and started drilling once a month, I found that I really enjoyed being in the military part-time. It was the best of both worlds, getting to travel some and having new experiences but also still being able to be home with family and friends. I was the first female in my reserve unit and quite frankly I felt like they were all my brothers or fathers. I enrolled college while in the Army at the age of 21, and started my long journey (27 years) of pursuing my educational goals part-time, first with my bachelor’s degree and then my master's degree and now as a part-time doctoral student in the Ed.D in Educational Sustainability program at UW-Stevens Point. Currently I work at the at the Tomah Veterans Administration Medical Center (VAMC) as the Director of Education. I have studied and worked in education for years. I am interested in learning more about all the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), but the two I am most passionate about are SDG 4: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learn for all and SDG 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls. I am interested in building socially, ecologically, and economically sustainable communities and in transforming systems of teaching, learning and leadership. I consider myself an educator and leader who holds a passion for transforming systems of teaching and learning, empowering and motivating learners to become active sustainability citizens who are capable of critical thinking and able to participate in shaping a sustainable future. Within my community, I work with an organization that advances equity for women and girls through advocacy, education, philanthropy, and research, believing that together we can transform society for the better. I like to see positive change and believe that education will help not only me but also help other people understand the complexity of the world around them.