For those of you who know me pretty well,
you know that I love learning--heck, I went to COLLEGE for years and years and
years ... and I probably will go back soon! I am also very flexible about
things changing. Life's too short so when plans change or things don't turn out
like you think they should have, I think about the good that came out of it, or
how can I make it work better next time. Jobs also change. When I was 18 and
started working at then Standard Oil (which became Amoco Oil, which is now BP)
I thought I would work there F O R E V E R! Man how things changed from
what seems a million years ago when I was a Secretary, yes ... I was a
Secretary and then got some title change to an Administrative Assistant, which
FACE IT, is really a Secretary! But as I was taking dictation and typing on
typewriters and using carbon paper, I began to get the college bug and 8 years later graduated. Through
those years I got many small promotions and wound up in Human Resources. I loved doing training, salary budgets and new hire paperwork. I was also now in Denver, which is where I met Steven, got married at the Stanley
Hotel in Rocky Mountain National Park and also had Ashley.
What skill devoped in Human Resources over the years was crazy
... I became "good" at laying people off. This led us to moving to GA. Laying off people was something I ended up not being
proud of and started bothering my conscious. I left HR and decided to take a
break from corporate life--I went to an educational toy store (Zany Brainy) in
Kennesaw, GA applying for a part-time seasonal worker for Christmas. I came out of that
interview hired as an Assistant Manager and moved up quite quickly to a General
Manager/Training Store Manager of their flagship store. This job was really a
lot of fun, but took a LOT of my time away from home and my family-though at
Christmastime Steven and Ashley also helped me schlep boxes and arrange
displays! I did many fundraisers for schools and also started lesson planning
for Summer Reading Clubs for the store. My heart began to ache because I always
wanted to be a teacher and realized I had to fulfill that dream.
The opportunity presented itself when
Steven took a position with his company moving us from Georgia to
Massachusetts. I went back to school and also started teaching. My first
position was one that could probably never be topped. I was working with
pre-school children who had autism, but I also had peer students. Every
little gain made me ecstatic and I had the best on-the-job training a teacher
could ever have! I was with those students all year long and absolutely loved
it. I then taught 3rd grade and then moved to Kindergarten both of which I also
enjoyed immensely! It's wonderful to still keep in contact with some of those students, who are now a LOT older, but then again, so am I.
Even though writing has become a big part
of my life, I personally love reading and story-telling to children in the
classroom. As I read, I get caught up in their facial expressions and their
comments or questions that come out of a reading. So writing is important--but
reading what I've written for children is what makes being an author priceless!
We moved to Texas and found out that Texas
was overloaded with teachers. I took a position with the YMCA and was still
working with children. But my heart missed the classroom. I enjoyed doing
things with the children, but I spent lots of times in the office planning
things for the kids to do, or hiring people to do things with those kids. I am
finally back in the classroom at a wonderful charter school in Irving, TX and
am enjoying every minute of it. Each day holds new opportunities and I love
learning things from the children. I love their smiles, am deeply saddened by
their tears, love their funny quips and when they've drawn a picture that they
have drawn just for me-my heart is overjoyed!
Never stop re-evaluating your life and
never give up ... if life takes you in different directions and you feel lost maybe you
need to make a U-turn, don't be afraid to make that turn. You may learn some
new things about yourself and find your true passion in life!
Here is my BIO POEM. I use it to help
me reflect on my life and I hope you have enjoyed learning a little more about me:
Laura Wintczak Eckroat
Child of Henry and Agnes Wintczak
Who loves teaching, reading, writing,
gardening, my husband, daughter, and Muffin
Who hates people who lie
Who wants to go to Italy again
Who wishes she could've met Benjamin
Franklin, and Steven's father Jack
Who wishes she could meet George W. Bush,
Robert Downey, Jr., and members of DA BEARS!
Who is scared of dying tragically in a car accident
Who dreams of what it would be like if my
books were on the bestseller list
Who is determined to be the best mom and
wife I can be and also never give up on any student in my classroom
Who values family, friends, and every
student and every moment with my doggie and being a published author
Who is proud of her father
Who graduated from Regis University,
Denver, CO and wishes she finished her practicum so she could have gotten her
Masters from Elms College, Chicopee, MA (maybe someday soon I will finish!)
Who lives in Fort Worth, TX - but has
loved living in Springfield, MA; Woodstock, GA; Denver, CO; Whiting, IN
Laura Wintczak Eckroat
BIO POEM
Your name
Child of ...
Who loves ...
Who wants to go to ...
Who wishes he / she could've met ...
Who wishes he / she could meet ...
Who is scared of ...
Who dreams of ...
Who is determined to ...
Who values ...
Who is proud of ...
Who graduated from ...
Who lives ...
Your name again
Allen-Texas Assoc of Authors
