I grew up in rural Alabama as an overweight teenager. I was overweight for my childhood through teenage years until 17 years old. I was told year after year, time after time, by family and friends that I would not be able to lose weight. Every year, when it was summer recess from school, I always had a vision in my mind of how I would look and say to myself, "I'm going to lose weight." And year after year, I felt like a failure up until my Junior year in high school. At the end of my junior year, I weighed 260 lbs. I started my Senior year weighing 248 lbs. and this is when I realized that I had not failed all those years but finally learned how to manage what I ate and adopted a more active lifestyle. This built my confidence level, but I still had family and friends who said that I would not lose weight. At this same time, I had thoughts of pursuing a career in the military. To do this, I needed to go from 248 lbs. to 180 lbs. at the minimum. By my graduation, I weighed 176 lbs. I achieved my weight loss goal and more!

At this time, I had developed a real passion and desire for health and wellness due to the weight challenges that I overcame as a teenager. So, I changed my mind about military service and chose to attend college where I further educated myself about health and wellness by receiving my Associate Degree in Wellness Management from Shelton State Community College in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

I always had the burning desire in my heart to help other people achieve their health and wellness goals, especially teenagers due to my life experience. I knew that I had to have the proper education and experience in order to help others achieve their goals. After many years of searching and seeking for the right program that would help me achieve my goals of educating myself to help others, I discovered Dr. Sears Wellness Institute. What I have learned and what I teach as we form partnerships is nutrition, exercise, wellness and understanding as the basis to help people transform their lives into becoming the best version of themselves.