Melissa Davis:  

She has always been a great gal. She is married w/ 3 children. Christina Irwin & I are off and on. Sometimes she disappears & a yr or 2 later I receive a letter in familiar handwriting. I've lost contact w/ most everyone else. Let's reconnect!! College Cramming before the tests. Commuting to OU -- YUCK! from Richmond! Sleeping in my car on campus as worst case scenario... but I worked out a lot and managed to eat healthier than the typical college kid! Getting trashed on my boat "school nights" w/ friends (docked of course - of course, I was still responsible!) -- and other typical college stuff HAHA! I loved college days -- pretty clear to me, most of it. Joined a sorority which was fun but it was a pain b/c we didn't have a house yet. Worked 3 jobs and carried a full load and traveled a lot. Wore braces for 2 yrs -- had to pay the 3K bill too. :( Slept at my future sister-in-law's apt and my grandparent's house a lot during grad school. Took 16 cr hrs (double time) in grad school and completed a post masters w/ my masters and graduated earlier than my classmates!! Proud of myself and my GPA. What great days! I learned so much and took a leadership role. I sometimes miss those days! I REALLY miss the friends, although most of us keep in touch. (Thanks to technology!) UPDATE -- I am back taking classes again now after 2 yrs off... I am preparing to make a career change in the next 2 yrs from mental health counseling to "financial counseling" (aka financial planning). This is an area I have always had passion for, but since my family had been involved in the financial services industry for as long as I can remember, I decided to do something "different" after high school (that turned out to be counseling)... Now here I am charting a course back to my roots... where I have always needed to be. I am SO glad I obtained my masters & post-masters education in the field of counseling & psychology b/c I learned valuable listening & people skills that will benefit me the rest of my life -- and will help on my pursuit to further success. My classes are complete summer 2006!!! I plan to go full-time in my business soon thereafter. (And live in MI all summer starting 2007!!!) 2/11/06 -- Man, these certified financial planning classes are difficult! I am in my 3rd of 5 classes now learning about tax planning -- so much memorizing. My last course was investment planning -- 10 weeks crammed full of macroeconomics, options, security analysis and portfolio construction... Nothing I knew anything about (other than statistics). What a challenging program! I've learned so much so far!! Workplace Well, at 16 I started working as a bagger at Meijer & upgraded to Produce when I turned 18. Worked there 3 yrs. It was fun times... Quit b/c my grandma offered me a job at the family business, so, thinking I was going to be the business's successor, I quit Meijer & focused on the beef jerky business. I worked there many, many years... throughout college. They weren't ready enough to move anyone up the ladder and kept putting off talking about succession, so I focused on grad school & moved to AZ 2 yrs later to start my own life. I understand the emotionality involved w/ retirement from a self-built agency so I don't hold any grudges. In the meantime, I didn't just sit around & wait my turn... No, I worked several jobs at a time while in college. A psych hospital to be sure I could handle counseling this population (determined that's fine) 3 yrs, Wayne State doing research for psycholinguistics data collection 1 yr, lots of unpaid reseach positions at OU, 8 mo working w/ an autistic 4 yo... mostly psych-related areas. And I had a Mary Kay business for a couple years that I brought to AZ. I worked a lot. A LOT. Like at times a double shift and then straight to the family business to work shipping or production and then BACK to Harbor Oaks... I always had specific goals in mind that kept me focused. Like paying in a lump-sum the boatslip payment for the year. I think I was the youngest boatowner at that marina -- and a chick!! They didn't know what to think about that! I worked to fund my boating hobby & my other financial obligations, but I also love to invest and plan for retirement, so I did that, too. All during college years. Didn't do bad. Right now (11/05), I am waiting for my AZ Counselor license to be awarded (I've completed my 3600+ hrs counseling) & following the receipt of this license, I will be at my max pay rate at my agency. But financial gains is only one way to measure success. I am doing something I really enjoy. I followed my interests in school not caring what the income might be. It's not bad to wake up Mon morning when I like my job! Counting my internship, I have been counseling 3+ yrs. I have learned so much about people & about how to connect with, understand, & of course, help them. However, the avg counselor working w/ the severe population stays in the field 5 yrs. That is not only my experience in my agency, but also in my life as well. It is a stepping-stone for me. I like it, but I don't want to do it forever. So, my husband & I became marketing reps for Helping Build Wealth (HBW), which is an agency my family does not own, but in which are also successful. I became life insurance licensed in AZ & MI in 2004 & I am in a program to become a Certified Financial Planner (CFP). I have been wanting to dive into the financial services area for so long -- I was studying to get my life license in 1997, but decided to put it off to focus on psychology and business classes! It is now that I am finally ready & focused. This will soon replace my counseling career -- helping people manage their cash flow, net worth, wealth accumulation, retirement planning, debt management, college education funding for children & risk mgt. I love this stuff!!