Beth Moore currently lives in Memphis, TN but grew up in Portland, TN. She obtained her bachelor’s degree in public health from WKU and her Associate of Applied Science in Radiology Technology degree from Vol State Community College in Gallatin, TN. She is the Lead Interventional Radiology Technologist at Vascular Interventional Physicians.
Moore started her Community Education journey in 2003 as a group leader at Natcher After School. She worked at the previously known summer program, YAP, with the middle schoolers. In her last year with Community Education, she took the full-time position of Area Coordinator.
When talking about her time with Community Education Moore says, “To be honest, I was not a fan of small children. Yet, I still applied for a job to work at Community Education. I had a friend who worked there, and she said that it was a decent job with the added bonus that they were not open on weekends. That meant having my weekends free! I thought to myself that three hours after school every day won’t hurt me. So, I took the job, and I am forever thankful that I did!”
According to Moore, her experiences while working at Community Education taught her many things.
1.) KIDS ARE BRUTALLY HONEST.
“There were several times when I asked the kids questions and they did not hold back with their opinions. For example, one day I was talking with a student, and I mentioned that I was going to get a haircut. The first thing out of their mouth was, “You’ll look ugly if you cut your hair.” I was so caught off guard that all I could do was laugh and thank them for their opinion.”
2.) YOU WILL HAVE SO MANY NEW BEST FRIENDS UNDER THE AGE OF 10.
“The most heartwarming moments were when the children would tell me I was their favorite “teacher.” I had many kids that only wanted to hang out with me. Everyone knew which kids favored which teacher. My favorite thing was when I would walk into work and there would be five or six of them waiting at the door asking me to play kickball or Phase 10.”
3.) YOU’LL GET TO EMBRACE YOUR INNER 5-YEAR-OLD EVERY DAY.
“Yes, I did have to be the mature one most of the time. But I really did get to embrace my inner child while I was at work. How many 20-year-olds answer that yes, they get paid to play kickball and go play tag outside… not many.”
4.) POSITIVITY IS KEY.
“The most important thing I learned from my days with the kids was that every situation has the potential to be a positive one. Having to be the role model and mediator for all the kids I oversaw, I quickly learned that positivity is key. I realized that if I was looking at things with a positive outlook, the kids would do the same. This made my job a lot easier and their days a lot better. This is something that has carried over into my daily life and improved it. Now when I am faced with a challenge, I try to face it with positivity.”
“All these things that I have learned through working with children have made both my job and my everyday life more enjoyable. I have learned that sometimes you just must be brutally honest with people, that you must take time to have fun, and that being positive will make a world of difference.”
While working at Community Education Moore made many lifelong friends, but most importantly she met her husband, Brad, of 12 years. They have a 4-year-old son, Maddux. Moore is grateful she was able to keep in touch with a few of the kids from her time at Community Education through social media. Seeing them thrive as adults and parents is a great feeling.