"Smile and enjoy the rich innocence and happiness that life has to offer."
Why We Love Sheila Pottern: This is Sheila's second summer volunteering in the Youth Center Nutrition class. "Sheila did a scavenger hunt for the Nutrition class and the girls really loved it! She is always happy and friendly with the girls. Also she put a lot of time and effort into the scavenger hunt and all the activities we do. She brings a lot of books and materials that help with class activities and lesson plans! Sheila is extremely thoughtful and deliberate in her interactions with the girls and staff. She has such a bright and shining personality and we love having her at Girls Inc.!"
Who's The STRONGest Person You Know: My 93 year old mother. Raising 5 daughters couldn't have been easy in a household where money had to "be stretched" and where my father was not very involved in sharing parenting responsibilities. However, she managed to allow each of her daughters to develop their own unique personalities and goals and never lost sight of the impact that love and support could nurture. She is my true role model for how I approach life.
What's The SMARTest Thing You Have Ever Heard: It written by His Holiness the Dalai Lama in his book, "The Pursuit of Happiness" -- he wrote "I believe that the very purpose of our life is to seek happiness....the very motion of our life is toward happiness". This always strikes me as such an upbeat, positive message. I think that oftentimes we become so caught up in the daily stresses of life that we fail to direct our attention and energy to being joyful. I think that the girls and staff at Girls Inc. are a great reminder for me to smile and enjoy the rich innocence and happiness that life has to offer--it is an atmosphere that supports this for me. I am grateful.
What's The BOLDest Thing You Have Ever Done: I undertook developing and producing an annual televised talent scholarship competition for high schools in the Denver, Littleton, Englewood, Aurora and Cherry Creek districts--"The Alex English Rainbow Talent Quest". At the time that I was hired I had some background in the planning of sporting events, but had NO experience in the Performing Arts or staging a televised program. Although stressful (!!), it was a great challenge for me and proved very rewarding for the 3 years that I did it.
