Meet Sherry

Career Switcher: From Banking to the Classroom

Sometimes, it takes a job or two to find the right career, the one where your true passion lies. That was the case for Sherry. After high school she didn’t want to go to college, so she headed straight into the workforce, serving as a teller at her local bank for eight years. Then once she became a mom, she decided stay home and raise her children.

“I had two kids, but by the time my daughter started pre-school, I thought I needed to try something and go back to work part time,” she said. “I started substitute teaching for a year, was hired on full time – then was laid off, which was when I decided to go back to school to get my associates degree.”

Sherry enrolled in the Early Childhood Education associates degree program at New River Community College, and as a mom, she was able to take what she was learning in the classroom and apply it in her own living room.

“I’m sure my husband was so aggravated because I was testing out theories I learned in the classroom on my own children,” Sherry laughed. “I found they worked, you know? They work. A lot of people don’t get how things work in a teaching setting. It amazed me.”

When Sherry meets people who are interested in pursuing Early Childhood Education, she shares the passion that she acquired so naturally from her instructors and advisors.

“I encourage people to speak with the Early Childhood faculty. They opened up a whole new world to me. They’re so passionate, it rubbed off on me, my work and my teaching,” she said. “We all have a love for children and we want to help them get the high-quality education they need. I really do love the program – I wish I was still in it!”

Sherry received her associates degree and is now on the path to getting her bachelor’s degree from Liberty University.