I graduated from Sweet Springs in '84. Married in '86 and had three kids: Ember '88, Bo '89, and Sarah '94. I started teaching in Sweet Springs in '97, got my bachelors in Art Ed at CMSU/UCM in '98. Started teaching as Mrs Thomas at Concordia in 2000. Sometime in there, I earned a MsEd in Curriculum , it may have been '02. In '09 I became an Utterback and  gained 2 bonus kids: Garrett and Katie. In 2010, I switched to teaching high school art in Windsor because my hubby worked there. While at Windsor, I also served as curriculum director and instructional leader. In 2017, I earned an Ed Spec in administration and was interviewing for principal positions when life sent a curveball... one of our grandchildren came to live with us and Arya became our 6th child. In 2019, I returned to Concordia, teaching elementary art. I retired in 2023, but in '24 returned to Concordia part time to teach gifted and title 1 math. In my spare time, I enjoy mountain man rendezvous, gardening, and decorating my home