Karen Quigley:  

From that precious day in May of 1974, I made some big changes in my life. I gave up my cheer leading, and turned my time to more studies, while working at a Golf Course, and later on at Michigan International Speedway. I went to JCC hoping to get a degree in Accounting, but it was really boring to me. So, I earned my associates degree in Business Management, and then Western to earn my degree in teaching. I graduated in 1980, and started with substituting in the Marshall area. I liked doing it, but the money wasn't enough to keep me going. Then I worked at a CPA firm in Marshall for 3 years, while dating my future husband, Mark. He had been in the Navy for 6 years, and was earning his BS in Electrical Engineering at U of M. He graduated at the end of April in '84, and we were married a week later. A week after that, we were living in New Hampshire. Mark worked in Massachusetts, at Mitre Corporation (a think tank), and I taught 2nd grade in Bedford, NH. We loved it there, and we had a son, Matthew, in 1986. Matthew was (and still is) every parent's dream. We lived 2 more years in New Hampshire, and then moved to Maryland. In Maryland, I taught 3rd grade, and Mark worked for a company called ARINC. The job ha...Expand for more