Valerie Dargan:
CLASS OF 1977
Willingboro High SchoolClass of 1977
Willingboro, NJ
Guilford College Class of 2008
Greensboro, NC
Kennedy High SchoolClass of 1977
Willingboro, NJ
Valerie's Story
It would probably surprise you to know that my degree is in Community Justice & Policy Studies where my primary emphasis is Peace & Reconciliation. As an advocate for the disenfranchised in marginalized and predominantly African American communities, my goal is to diminish the control of those in power (who have nothing more than an economic interest in our communities) by empowering those of us who want to speak up but are often unheard or neglected.
I don't even remember my teachers' names. My mind is like a computer... what I need I save, what I don't gets dumped.
The wildest thing I ever did in school was to fight over being called a name that I know I am not... the 'N' word. So now, I climb on my soapbox whenever I hear our children using it as a term of endearment.
I hope my old friends forget all the thoughtless, childish, and foolish things I did while trying to find myself. Instead I hope to be remembered as one who had a low tolerance for injustice and observed abuse... I'd argue about anything to get to what was right. Unfortunately my defense mechanisms then were not the most effective. But "when I was a child" I acted just like children do. Come on now, you can only know if you were out there with me, right? But now that I am grown, I have put away childish things. We live and we learn!
To be truly happy, I would be fulfilling my dream to own and manage a multi-acre Healing Retreat & Spa for Christian woman who are experiencing emotional distress but unable to afford to retreat for healing. This resort would be staffed with full time Christian counselors and Intercessors along with Nutritionists who focus in 'whole' foods and all the amenities of a 5 star resort and spa in the mountains of NC. Those who can afford it, will forward pay for those who cannot. The fees will be covered by philanthropists and those who have benefitted from having experienced the retreat themselves. If Ireveal the rest of this soon-to-be fulfilled aspiration, I may give you my business plan and you will have to pay me. Stay tuned for TH...Expand for more
E SECRET PLACE Healing & Prayer Center.
Life doesn't always turn out the way you expect. I expected to continue on in business management in climbing through the executive level. The pay and other perks did not satisfy my need, only someone else's greed. After 25 years, I walked away from corporate America and stepped into the non-profit environment where I see the result of changed lives from the investment of my time and energy. I never imagined work could be so fulfilling.
If there was one thing I could do over, I would have listened to the elders who tried to speak into my life instead of tuning them out. Their wisdom may have helped me to learn to avoid some painful mistakes and most importantly, to love myself so I would not have resorted to looking for it outside of myself in empty relationships and addictions. I moved from my mother's house into a marriage at twenty. Although I would have married the same man, I certainly would have waited a few years to get to experience life on my own. The wait would have helped to avoid a separation and a lot of heartache. I have since learned to love ME and as a result get the same in return. Somethings can only be learned through experience, huh?
I have lived the majority of my adult life in Greensboro, NC. I have also made my home in Midway Park (Camp Lejeune), North Carolina and Oceanside, California. We moved from New Jersey for two reasons... My mother wanted to move so that we could attend a HBCU in the South and to get away from the increased gang activity in NJ. The first year in NC was very traumatic because we were away from our family and friends. My sister (Debra) and I had to go to the doctor in order to find out why we were so depressed... the doctor said it was 'home-sickness'. Fitting in at a place where we knew no one and making new friends was more than a challenge... I dropped out of college after 1.5 years, got married, and started family life. Now I am glad we did move or I would have missed out on the blessings of family and the peace that I now experience!
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