Theresa Toussaint:
CLASS OF 1982
Istrouma High SchoolClass of 1982
Baton rouge, LA
Theresa's Story
Life
I'm currently married to Derrick Toussaint, a graduate of Robert E. Lee High School. We have three lovely children, Charity (20), Faith (17), and Jordan (10). God has truly blessed us with gifted children who ocassionally push us close to the edge - parents you know what I mean.
I'm actively involved in the music ministry and part of the ministerial staff at Oasis Christian Church. It's exciting to see the power of God revealed in the lives of others and my own as well. Everyday is a faith walk but I committed to serving God forever. There's no life outside of Christ.
It's always been my passion to help others so I'm actively involved in community service also. I've participated in and helped to organize everything from community clean-up campaigns to anti-violence efforts.
As most of you know, my mom passed away when I was only fourteen and my dad raised me and my siblings. I was fortunate enough to attend modeling and 'purity' class as a teen where I was taught how to carry myself as a young lady and developed essential skills to prepare me for my then future. It's been a pleasure working with young ladies and God impressed it upon me to write a self-help book for them which is in it's final stages of completion. Look for it on the market soon - Ladies First.
I'm also in the mortgage business, Sr. Loan Officer and Team Lead at Louisiana Home Mortgage. It's been a fun and exciting journey but this is a very rewarding industry. I love helping finance homes for people.
School
After high school I was to go on to college and then law school (at my dad's wishes) but I had other plans. I got married - imagine that! That was not the perfect plan for my life so after 13 years of marriage to Anthony Jones, we divorced and I went back to school.
I attended Baton Rouge College and after two years and three hundred internship hours, acquiring certification in Parallegal studies. I'm also a licensed insurance agent and loan originator (my current profession). Learning is fun and I'm always interested in growing and improving myself. Reading is a passion of mine - I typically read two or three books each month. I'm a member of a local book club called 'Expressions' - we meet monthly.
I aspire to go back to school to pursue a bachelor's in business management. Although I love school and am an advocate of education, that will be some undertaking. I've got to get mentally prepared for it. My husband is scheduled to go back early in 2005. We'll let him get his feet wet before I start. He did it - his first class was in May 2005 - I guess I'm next.
College
I attended Baton Rouge College back in the late 90's and received my certification in parallegal studies. Pondering the idea of going to college to study business. My husband recently went back to school so it may be awhile before I decide to g...Expand for more
o. To be continued . . . .
Workplace
Work - oh my! Let's see, where do I begin? Why not start at the beginning . . . Sandra King, Cooperative Education, Istrouma High, 1982.
My first job was at American Bank in the Consumer Loan Department. I didn't know then that the circle of life would bring me back to consumer loans.
After leaving there I went to the EBRP School System in an administrative capacity - learned a lot and moved on.
My career has been quite a journey . . . from customer service to sales to administrative to government relations to marketing to radio to videography and production to marketing director for a major Louisiana HMO and back to consumer loans . . . . umph - I'm tired just thinking about it.
Some of the highlights of my career have been working as a radio announcer and general manager for a local christian radio station. It was loads of fun and challenging because I was also working two other jobs and attending night school at the time. Working in government relations and association management was also interesting. I met lots of politians and traveled all over.
Derrick and I also owned and operated a little golf driving range for a couple of years but decided to sell. After much consideration and deliberation, we agreed that it was not a lucrative, profitable business for us. He still plays (all the time I might add) and I sometime caddy for him - not that I know what I'm doing exactly. It's just fun to walk the course. I'm good at driving the balls for distance but have not yet mastered the game . . . some day . . . look out Tiger.
My most challenging position was Director of Marketing for the HMO. My team of twelve employees were responsible for over 98,000 lives in Louisiana - growth and retention was our specialty and by the grace of God we did it well (90% renewal rate) until the company decided to close its doors in 2001. Life goes on . . . I've learned to welcome & embrace change. Challenges help to develop character in us and make us better in the long run.
I ended up where I started - Consumer Loans. I now work as Sr. Loan Officer & Team Lead for Louisiana Home Mortgage. It's a great job because I help to add to the quality of life for so many people who are chasing 'The American Dream', homeownership. The satisfaction of knowing I can assist people to acquire one of their largest lifetime investments is wonderful. I can truly say that I look forward to waking up every morning and going to the office, but now that I go in an hour earlier to workout - some days are more difficult than others.
I know there's so much more in store for me. I plan to get my real estate license and become a notary as well. We'll see how all that pans out. I'm an entrepreneur at heart so I know I'll open another business in the future. The saga continues . . .
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