Debbie Herrick:  

I graduated from high school and went to WMU. I had a physical education degree. I met my husband Maurice in 1973 and we married in 1974. My son, Jason was born in 1976 and Lisa in 1980. We were a scout family. I started as a cub scout leader and once Jason was in Boy Scouts I was only allowed to be a merit badge counsellor. Jason is an Eagle Scout. Lisa started as a Daisy Scout and when she became a Junior Scout I became their Girl Scout Leader. She received the Gold Award which is the equivalent of the Eagle Award for the boys. She was the first girl to receive this who had started out as a Daisy Scout. The Daisy program was brand new when she was in kindergarten. I went back to GVSU to get my elementary endorsement which allowed me to become "highly qualified" to teach anything at the detention center. It was considered an alternative school where most kids are not in their age appropriate grade. Thus it was more like an elementary/junior high school level even though some of the kids were 17 years old. I was on the ground floor to build the educational program when the new Ottawa County facility was opened. Now many of the "at risk" students are on the E20-20 computer program for all of their subjects so this means that we don't need to teach many students anymore. Aaah progress, the computer classroom is replacing the real teacher. I always wanted to be a teacher when I grew up. My family and friends thought that was a good idea. As it turns out, they were right. If I'm going to work somewhere, I need to have an energy drink and a positive attitude to be able to deal with the day-to-day. Who was my heroine? Anne Sullivan, the teacher that worked with Helen Keller. She had the persistence and stamina to keep working with a difficult child. When Helen finally saw the "light" Anne was able to teach her and inspire her to continue her education and become a huge asset in society. Hopefully I made a difference in some kids' life teaching at the detention center. What are my TV obsessions and pets? I enjoyed Lost, X=Files, Ally McBeal, Sex in the City, Desparate Housewives, and Modern Family---I guess I need to keep finding new favorites. I have 3 dogs. One is a rescue dog, Peanut. One is a Shih-Tzu which was the best Valentine gift ever since our last one passed away the December before. His name is Corduroy. Now I have my retirement puppy. She is a Yorky named Gidget. I hope that my friends at school remember me as a nice person. I took school a little too seriously at times, but that was instilled in me by my parents. I had a great time at all of the 8th grade slumber parties and I loved to cheer back in the day. The wildest thing that I did at school was bring Gus the goat to our pep assembly and then our football game. The wildest thing that I did not do was skip school on Senior skip day with two of my best friends Sandy Hewartson and Judy Blanchard. My parents said if I did I wouldn't get my job in the attendance office the next year on the co-op program. As it was, Judy and Sandy worked in the office their senior year so they were well known by the attendance personnel. When I came to school on their Skip Day, Mrs. Campau was surprised and asked why I was there. I said because I was a junior. She thought for sure I would go with the girls. I said I wouldn't have been in trouble? She said she might have hit me with a wet noodle but that would be about it. I wish I would have gone....... I have lived in Grand Rapids after college, but then married in 1974. We lived in Grand Haven in a remodeled two room school house until 1976. Then we moved to Allendale in a house we built on my husband's parents' property. We bought 2 acres for $1.00 to make it official. If I could improve my home, I'd remodel the basement and add on a second bathroom. My dream home would be in a mildly warm climate with no snow. If I won $100 million, I'd give one million of it to scouts, Relay for Life, and my sorority foundation, then spend the rest on investments in a business, paying all the bills and vacations around the world. I joined Alpha Sigma Alpha at Western Michigan University. It was a big part of my college life. However communications were not so great then. No cell phones, facebook, e-mail, so I lost touch with most of the girls. I have 4 that I still hear from or see occasionally. I am a legacy which means that my real sister Penny was in the same sorority. I feel jipped in sorority life since we were in school during the "be your own person, be an individual" phase was big. This meant that the sororities all dwindled from being 78 sisters strong to only 9 sisters when I graduated. Eventually the sorority went off campus due to numbers. On the good side, I became an Alpha Sigma Alpha chapter advisor at Grand Valley State University. I did this for 6 years. Many of the sisters are older now and have invited me to their weddings, showers, baby showers, and just continue to keep in touch. They truly are sisters to me! I helped them get their sorority house and have been invited to all of the main events they still have. I'm like the "mom" to the girls. I actually attended the bachelorette party of my first president last weekend. What a hoot!! We took pole dancing lessons, rode a mechanical bull, and went dancing. Not bad for a 60 year old keeping up with the 30 year olds. Raeanne's mom and aunt were there too, so that was fun! I would love to see my 6th grade teacher, Mrs. Cushman. She is the person who taught me how to study and kept pushing us to be the best that we could be. She was one who inspired me to excel. My current age is 60. When I was 12, I thought ...Expand for more