Finding My Spark!
I built a career helping people find themselves—while secretly wondering if I’d lost myself along the way.
🎓 First-Gen & Figuring It Out
Has your career ever felt like it was on autopilot, and you were no longer directing what you did next? Like you’re just going through the motions, waiting for something to change but unsure how? You’re definitely not alone—and that’s exactly why I started CleverSpark Coaching. My mission started with my own internal career conflicts. I wanted to feel happy and confident in my job and help people along the way. That’s why I make it my mission to help every client find clarity, confidence, and joy in their careers.
I was a first-generation college student and the first person in my family to have a "desk-based" role. My parents were incredibly hardworking—my mom, a stay-at-home powerhouse, and my dad, a construction veteran who rose from laborer to superintendent. They were always working, always on, and instilled in me the work ethic that powered me through full-time college classes, a 30+ hour work week, and decent grades.
But college was a mystery to all of us. I navigated applications, orientations, and academic life mostly solo, afraid of being found out as someone who didn’t belong. That’s where my imposter syndrome really started.
💼 The Accidental Career Coach
Despite having a bachelor's and a master’s degree, I had no clue how to apply for jobs. My parents couldn’t help either—my mom hadn’t applied for jobs in years, and my dad had never needed a resume. (I even had to write one for him once just so HR had it on file!)
Thankfully, I had consistent work experience since I was 17—McDonald's, a bed and breakfast, a bank. When I saw an ad for an advising coordinator at a community college, I figured it was mostly admin work. Spoiler: it wasn’t. It changed my whole career.
At just 22, a dean took a chance on me. She gave me real responsibility: designing the advising structure, registering students, training faculty. I fell in love with helping people find their path—especially students like me.
😠 Burnout, Bullsh*t & Bosses
I moved on to a four-year public university for a fresh start. I finally got industry training, went to conferences, created student resources, and taught classes. I also had a micromanaging boss who told me I didn’t interview well because I smiled too much.
I stopped applying for jobs for a year after that.
I burned out. I got bitter. And I knew I had to leave before it affected my students. With no job lined up, my husband and I budgeted for a break. That pause was priceless. I realized what I really loved: future planning with students, aligning majors to careers, building resumes, and helping them figure out what came next.
🧠 ADHD, Motherhood & Mental Health
I pivoted into career development and landed a director role at a private college. I built a whole career center from scratch. I finally felt confident in my skills and impact.
Then I became a mom.
The shift from professional life to motherhood rocked me. I actually missed meetings. My brain felt like it rewired overnight. After months of chaos, I sought out a therapist who diagnosed me with ADHD—at 38.
Looking back, it made so much sense. I had always over-prepared, invented complicated note systems, and thrived under last-minute pressure. But my coping mechanisms stopped working when a baby came into the picture. ADHD was always there; I just masked it well.
✨ Lighting the Spark: Why CleverSpark Exists
After a year at home and some coaching gigs, I found my passion again—especially coaching neurodivergent clients. I loved the work, but I didn’t love being told I wasn’t "corporate enough" or "professional enough." (Someone even told me not to list my Kentucky location on LinkedIn because clients might think I wasn’t qualified.)
I was miserable. Dreading Mondays. Dreading meetings. Dreading typos. So, I made a decision:
If I couldn’t find the workplace I wanted, I would build it.
CleverSpark Coaching was born. A place where creativity, authenticity, and compassion are professional. A space for the ADHD brain, the burned-out parent, the marginalized identity, the person who doesn’t fit into the corporate mold.
This isn’t corporate BS. This is coaching that helps you find yourself, be yourself, and succeed as yourself.
💬 If You See Yourself in My Story...
Let’s talk. You deserve a career that energizes you, not one that drains you. Together, we can challenge the status quo and spark a future that finally fits.
