First and foremost, to anyone who understands that title reference, you’re my new favorite person. But in all seriousness, I want to unapologetically introduce you to myself, and not just the LinkedIn or Instagram version.
If you already know me, this page is redundant. If not, I think it’s a good insight into a small portion of my life and let’s you see a little bit of who I actually am. And because I type (read: talk) way too much, there are even MORE blogs about just me (sorry!) so here we go!
Education
Let’s start with the basics. Feel free to scroll right on by this section if you’re just more interested in learning what I love to do every Wednesday after work, or hear about my cat. But, I think that my education and experience speak volumes in shaping where I am today. I am a Virginian – born and bred. The good old Mid-Atlantic where we have the beach, the mountains, and the big cities. Northerners confirm you’re from the South while Southerners claim you’re actually from the North. And of course, I ended up going to the best (this is NOT subjective, obviously) school in the state: Virginia Tech.
I have two degrees. One a B.A. in Philosophy (purely for fun and because I enjoyed the classes). The other a B.S. in Housing, a part of the AHRM program. This is a very specific degree, focused on Kitchen and Bath Design as the NKBA accredited program at Virginia Tech. At the time that I graduated, I was able to study under three of the authors of the NKBA’s Professional Resource Library (now condensed in their online Knowledge Base). And although my area of study was very niche, I wouldn’t trade that experience for the world and wouldn’t want to be a part of any other industry.
Read more about my educational background in my The Branches Of The Learning Tree blog.
Experience
Every path to find “your place” in the workforce is a little different. Some choose college, others don’t. Some college graduates move effortlessly to internship, job, and career. Others take a little longer to find something that fits them. I’m in that latter group – after I graduated I had a bit of a rocky start that really made me sit and think about what I really wanted to do and accomplish, and what kind of people I needed around me in order to reach my goals. I will take a moment to acknowledge all of the privileges that helped me reach my perfect path sooner rather than later, and understand that it’s not all that complicated. However, it is mine, and we should all know by now how much I love to share, so I will.
My internship was really the first “adult” work force experience I had, and it was fabulous. I attribute most of the seeds that were rooted for me due to that time. Between my junior and senior year in college I was able to take on a intern role with Ewing Cabinet Company in Blacksburg, VA underneath some outstanding and inspiring designers at a loving family business. I was also grateful that I was able to work for them again my last semester as a senior (for required credit) and gain additional valuable experience to launch me into the post-grad life. Now that, is another story altogether…
Read more about my real world experiences in my You Know I Work All Day blog.
Extracurriculars
I try to keep myself busy outside of my day-to-day job, hence me also starting to attempt my own blog. But, I am involved in two local organizations that I absolutely love. The first is our local NKBA chapter: Texas North Plains. Since the NKBA helped give me an education, it is by far my favorite industry organization. Our Texas North Plains Chapter is luckily very involved with its members, so it was easy to get on board and become active. I started by simply helping out with a few Facebook and Instagram posts here and there and sitting in on board meetings to help where I could. But, in 2019 I felt the need to step up and run for our local Programs Chair position, in which I hold office for the 2020-2021 years. I have loved being able to host events (even virtual ones, during the pandemic) and come up with fun and interesting ways to get our members more involved.
The other organization that is near and dear is obviously the Virginia Tech Alumni Association local chapter: Dallas / Forth Worth Hokies. Originally, I just joined to have other people to watch football games with, but have grown my responsibility over the years. Again, I started by just helping some from a social media standpoint, and as of the start of the 2019, school year am the Communications Chair. Being able to interact with everyone, keep our website as up to date as possible, and emailing our members to keep them informed of both local and national events is definitely worth my time. That and having a vote as to where we have football and basketball watch parties (teehee).
Read more about these organizations in my A Little Bit Of My Life blog.
Personal
Now that you’ve stuck around through all of the “boring stuff” I’ll spend a brief moment telling you all of the other things I love to do. Obviously, talking (and in this medium, typing) and sharing my life, experiences, knowledge and just everything is a favorite part of every day, but I promise you’ll figure that out on your own. I don’t really need to talk about that any more.
In my free time I love a few things: soccer, reading, my cat, working out, drinking wine, attempting to cook, and watching a good movie (or television show). I play soccer at least twice a week, currently playing for one outdoor and two indoor teams – purely for fun. This is NOT uber competitive, and we typically grab a bite to eat (or a pint of beer) afterwards. For reading, I am always looking for new book recommendations, so send them my way, and be my friend on Goodreads if you’d like to follow along. And for the other things, this post would start getting too long, so you can learn more later.
Read more about my personal life in my When The Working Day Is Done blog.
The title song is “This Is Me” from The Greatest Showman
Find all of my blog title songs on my Spotify playlist
R Helene Design 