Education & Career
Stories about challenges in education and in the professional world
FaithWorks of Abilene Podcast
FaithWorks formed in the mind and heart of Joyce Dalzell several years before the first class began in 2003. It was while she was volunteering at a local food pantry that she realized that the people being served "just have never learned the skills they need to find a...
read moreFlygirl: Get Gutsy
Vernice Armour, AKA FlyGirl, recorded this video just for Iron Butterflies Project. She is a world renown author and speaker and we are thrilled to have her as part of our community. After listening to her story below, check out her site: http://vernicearmour.com ...
read moreCreating a Stage for Special Needs Children
By Joshua Levy My passion for enriching the lives of children with special needs is rooted from my experiences as a teacher’s aide throughout my middle and high school years. While in eighth grade I had the opportunity to work with special needs students; I recall...
read morePoem of Joy and Freedom
By Marianna Dydek Waite My story is one of my joy and freedom. I once lived a life based on a balance of trust along side a faint and haunting noise of mistrust. Fear and mistrust are very noisy, indeed, distracting and misleading. Love is not. Love is clear, sure and...
read morePeace, Love and Butterflies
By Drake White, The Nectar Bar “She made broken look beautiful and strong look invincible. She walked with the Universe on her shoulders and made it look like a pair of wings.” ~Ariana Dancu The lesson of the butterfly is letting go of the past and moving forward into...
read moreJumping Into Life
By Rochelle Dornatt Every week I climb a 23-foot ladder to a little platform, steel my nerves…and jump off. Once I land, I get up and do it all over again. And again. And again. I am a trapezist. Yes, I fly trapeze. Just like in the circus. Well, maybe not exactly...
read moreFrom Colombia to the U.S: Our Road Less Traveled
By Kathy Strain, Judy and Alfonso Ortiz Edited by Verlie Edwards Leaving one’s comfort zone is never easy. Trying something new and different forces us to be stronger and to see the world through new eyes. This was something that Alfonso and Judy Ortiz learned early...
read moreWonder Woman
By Kay Lynn Means Darling Growing up in East Texas in the 70s may have had its own challenges. But, for Kay Lynn, it meant a chance for her to do something that many women had not done before. By 1975 at the age of 19, Kay Lynn found herself divorced and in need of a...
read moreHow Failure Made My Writing Stronger
By Nathan Cunningham I crossed the finish line of my last semester at college like an exhausted racehorse, limping, panting, in last place but glad to make it to the end. I commuted more than sixty miles every day for class. I had a one-year-old at home and my wife...
read moreCuring The Quarter-Life Crisis Behind a Bar
By Kali Rogers I found myself at a bar. I wasn’t drunk, though drunk people were definitely there. I wasn’t on the prowl looking for my future husband, though plenty of potential suitors roamed the stools. I wasn’t even with a group of girlfriends catching up on our...
read moreEvery Tub Stands On Its Own Two Feet
By Verlie Edwards Every Tub Stands on Its Own Two Feet… That’s what my Mother told me the day I turned 18 years of age. In the same breath, she continued that she would always be there to support me, but I was responsible for my actions as an adult. This made such an...
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