Barbara Nichols:
CLASS OF 1969
Central High SchoolClass of 1969
Davenport, IA
Barbara's Story
After spending the last 13 years between San Francisco and Washington DC, I am back in the good 'ole QCA for an extended, temporary, amount of time. Most recently I was employed by The American Red Cross at National Headquarters in DC working for several different departments related to technical training development and implementation for both Disaster Services and Biomedical Headquarters. The most enjoyable position was the supervision of the online real-time disaster information for the Disaster Services Call Center. I have worked in the Information Technology industry for 17 years having developed and implemented technical training programs for the software development industry, for state and local governments, and in private industry. Good grief, this is beginning to sound like a cover letter which was not intentional.
I am taking this opportunity to spend some time with my children here in the QCA while recouping from some physical challenges. Regardless, I am very happy and contented with life and what it has offered me through the years. The next cycle of life will be just as rewarding and fulfilling and I can't wait...my free spirit just might land me in another part of the world as I am contemplating volunteer work abroad.
If I'm going to work somewhere, I need to have a job I really like that empowers others, a GOAL to reach that spells SUCCESS, and a FAN to be able to deal with the day-to-day.
My number one hero is Jesus. Other heroes include Albert Einstein, Dr. Robert Schuller Sr., and the woman who was my Girl-scout leader, Sunday School teacher, choir director, Youth Fellowship leader, and yes, she did all of those things and often times simultaneously. Oprah Winfrey is my modern day hero.
My obsession is empowering others so they have the opportunity to create their personal greatness.
If I could improve my home, I'd remodel it to make it larger and add on a library. My dream home would be the green one I designed and built myself, or at least with the help of my sons. :)
My sons have taught me that life and love can take on many different forms and to embrace them when they aren't exactly as I expected.
If I won $100 million, I'd give some...Expand for more
of it to Literacy Council of Washington DC, then spend the rest on donations to other charities, to the Crystal Cathedral, my retirement and an additional nest egg for my sons.
My current age is 59. When I was 12, I thought that people my age now would be old. I was so completely WRONG!.
I share my home with my cat, Boji, which I find comforting.
In 10 years, I hope to be even happier than I am today. I'm going to get there by taking life as it comes by enjoying each and every day.
I met ONE of my oldest friends in 1st grade through an instrumental and vocal music kinship Although too young at the time to recognize it, it was her ability to think outside the box that attracted me to her. Through her I learned the importance of being true to yourself by becoming the person you were intended to be.
I'll never forget the deep yearning I had to learn how to play the piano. For years as a child I would DREAM about having one of those little red floor model pianos for children. That yearning turned into the accomplishment of one of my life long goals. My yearning started to become a reality when at the age of 10 I taught myself how to play the antique pump organ my family acquired from a local church. (I didn't care that I had to pump the darn thing, a keyboard was a keyboard, neither did I care that the lesson books came from garage sales.) 17 years later at the encouragement of a high school friend who just happened to be an accomplished pianist, I graduated to acquiring my own piano with a full keyboard. Her encouragement of my talent and her coaxing to take the next step up to a more appropriate instrument gave me the confidence to fulfill a life long goal.
I hope my old friends will remember my happy smile and my friendly nature.
Now that I am retired I have moved back to Virginia; to southwestern Virginia between the Blue Ridge and the Appalachian mountains where there are three weeks of winter versus 3-4 months of winter in the midwest. Boji, my pet cat has gone to heaven and my newest side-kick is a rescued part Main Coone cat named Jewels. And of course I miss my sons and friends from the QCA...and being retired now affords me time to visit more freely.
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