A little more than two years ago, I found myself staring at the computer screen on a gray February afternoon contemplating my fate. How many more reference guides would I have to write before retirement – a time more than 20 years away? I began to imagine the hundreds of thick reference guides multiplying around me, eventually towering over me and obscuring my view on the outside world.

To end the ghastly daydream, I surfed over to the local news page, just to see what was going on in the world while I was chained to my desk. Scanning the home page, I saw a headline about alternative teacher certification programs.

Teaching? I once wanted to be a teacher. When I was a little girl, I was always the teacher when my sisters and I played school. Prior to joining corporate America, I was a graduate student, studying English and teaching freshmen composition. Was I too old to start that journey again? It wouldn't hurt to take a look. I clicked the link and was presented with a page advertising the various programs offered by local universities. As I surfed around the site and surveyed the programs, my interest grew. Could I really become a teacher after all this time? I was enjoying the evenings I tutored English and study skills to several middle and high school students. Definitely, this was a natural change in careers for me.

Acceptance into George Washington University's Millennium Fellows program found me embarking on an exciting graduate study after a ten-year hiatus from a classroom. Standing in front of my first classroom in ten years I also discovered that I found my place in the world.

I am a teacher.