United Associations Conference

One teacher can make an impact that lasts a lifetime...

For a highly sensitive girl with ADHD-C (impulsivity & hyperactivity), school was both Heaven and Hell.

I could FEEL when teachers didn’t like me. To be fair, I look back today with kinder eyes. I get it. It was not easy, and we NOW know that ADHD isn’t a behavior disorder; it’s a neurodevelopmental disorder.

Kindness and patience felt rare. It felt like love...like I was seen, held, and understood. “Why is this person being so nice to me? Surely, they’ve been warned that it’s easier to count me out.”

So, when Mrs. Bonnie Tullis, our school’s Family & Consumer Science Teacher, asked me to join the leadership team to represent Oswego High School in FCCLA, I was surprised. Yes, I’d been our class president since middle school but that didn’t amount to much work. “Okay. Why not?”

From that moment on, Mrs. Tullis kept asking for more. She kept investing in me. She encouraged me to become the President of District J-East and to participate in STAR Events in their public speaking categories. I was a pretty successful lil’ gal! I even went on to represent our district at the state and national level. FCCLA (Family Career and Community Leaders of America) gave me tremendous purpose. It became vote after vote toward my confidence.

Do you want to know something wild? Almost all FCCLA advisors treated me like I was important and worthy! The students and fellow leadership team embraced me and propped me up! I felt like a superstar! Truly!

Here we are, almost 20 years later. I am speaking AND teaching an improv workshop at the United Associations Conference for KAFCS(the Kansas affiliate of the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences).

Of course, I’ve given hundreds of speeches to date, but this was monumental. This group of people were EXACTLY who helped me set the stage for skills that would serve me and countless others throughout my life. I owe a debt of deep gratitude to each person in that room, to those who are retired or moved on, and especially to Mrs. Tullis.