The Path Not Planned
This week I had the pleasure of talking to Sherri Gleaves. Serving this year as the President for Oklahoma Business Marketing and Information Technology Education, Sherri was someone I wanted to talk to. In my short travels around CTE, I have learned that like pursuing a degree, career paths do not always have a charted plan. Sometimes we “end up” where we are. I am not saying it is a bad thing. I am saying the thing we discover we love doing, may not be what we set out to do when we started our journey.
Sherri has a casual, but deliberate way about her. She loves teaching but early in her career, she was told by her supervisor she should be in politics. I hear this from time to time myself. But I hear it because I like to talk and people tell me, “You should be in politics”. I am sure there is some message in there I am missing, but I digress. Back to the path. Sherri’s husband was a CareerTech teacher. He would talk about all this “ACTE” stuff. Sherri raised their children and then went into teaching. In that time she had gone to an ACTE conference with her husband. Her assertion was she loved the legislative environment. With the hook now set, she knew she wanted to be involved. Her words were that she wanted to support those that represent her. Very powerful words in my view. I can relate quite easily. I have talked many times of my military service. Many times I get thanked for my service and sacrifice. But that is the tip of the iceberg when looking at the whole picture. It is the support from everyone else that makes what we do possible. Likewise with Sherri. It is the support from people like Sherri that makes this legislative process possible.
Now “going into politics” is as broad a statement as saying I work in Information Technology, there are so many moving parts to it. One really needs to pick the part they like and go with it. For Sherri, the moving part she was most taken with was the financial parts of education, it was her “aha” moment. Unless you have been living in a cave, Perkins Funding was the big topic at the National Policy Seminar in March of this year. To hear Sherri talk about her interest in it is quite a treat. She sees ACTE as THE advocacy vehicle with Congress. As an attendee to NPS, I have attest to the sheer magnitude of the Washington D.C. Machine. Operating at this level is no small feat.
Sherri also shared with me her 22 year membership with ACTE. Also her roles as an officer spanning from region VP to this year’s president of Oklahoma Business Information Technology Education. Sherri is a great example of doing something about it and getting involved. I will relate to the classroom something I do. I make sure to tell my students who will be coming of voting age, to fill out their Voter Registration. I provide the forms for them. I explain the importance of being involved. I tell them if they are not involved, it is very difficult to justify griping about something when it turns out the wrong way. With Sherri, her involvement stems from a deep desire to be part of the solution. I also tell my students if they are not part of the solution they are part of the problem. Strong words, but sometimes the inspiration to act comes from a stark reminder of the importance of what we do as well as the repercussions if we fail.
I want to congratulate Sherri on her election. I told her she has my support. It is my job right now to provide the support she needs to have so she can represent us. I challenge all who read this to seek involvement at some level. Be part of the solution. Be part of success of someone you have never met. I cannot think of a better blessing than to have helped those who are unaware. We are smoothing the path to the success for those we advocate for. Thanks Sherri for a great interview and taking the time to talk. I look forward to working with you in the future!
Tommy Hamilton
ACTE Business Education Fellow 2017