"i am the first woman in my lineage with freedom of choice. to craft her future whichever way i chose. say what is on my mind when i want to. without the crack of the whip. there are hundreds of first I am thankful for. that my mother and her mother and her mother did not have the privilege of feeling. what an honor. to be the first woman in the family who gets to tastes her desires. no wonder I am starving to fill up on this life. i have generations of bellies to eat for. the grandmothers must be howling with laughter ... how wild it must be for them to see one their own living so boldly"

- Rupi Kaur, The Sun and Her Flowers.

My Family

My name is Tamela and I am a graduate student at Appalachian State University. I am getting my master's in Special Education and focusing on Emotional Behavior Disorders. I currently work as a graduate assistant for the Scholars with Diverse Abilities Program here at Appalachian. My role is to be an academic support and liaison to all the students in the program.

My mother decided on this name for me the day I was born as she borrowed the name from my grandmother who named her daughter Tamela. My aunt Tamela unfortunately passed away when she was a day old. If Tamela would have survived she would have had an intellectual disability and would need extensive care throughout her life. I give her partial credit for my interest in this field.

My mother raised me along with my grandmother and we had the best of time. My mom and grandmother were in construction and home design. I would many of times be along for the ride, acquiring home decor skills and basic construction knowledge at a very young age.

After a few years my sister came along and then we were a group of gals moving from place to place. I grew up knowing only girls, my best friend and her mom were a gaggle themselves and all these ladies are who taught me how to be the bossy lady I am today.

I have my Bachelors in Sustainable Development and a Concentration in Community, Regional, and Global Development. I never felt like I belonged in the major even though it is still a subject I am passionate about. I think that what I want to do with sustainability differed from my colleagues in the field, leaving me feeling further from the major at graduation than I do now.

I have lived in Spain on multiple occasions and love the Spanish language although I am terrified to speak it. It is something about myself that I wish I was braver at.

I love to travel and I am thrilled about traveling cheaply and hysterically, doing whatever possible to save a penny here and there. The next thing on my bucket list is to hike/travel the El Camino Santiago, along the Portuguese route and hit Finland on the way back.

I have been married for two years. My partner is my best friend and I met him while studying in my undergraduate career here at Appalachian. My husband is a great person and has taught me many things about myself and I owe him credit for my pursuit and interest in the education field. We jointly love watching crime shows (SVU), backpacking, strategic board games, and cooking spaghetti.

We have a poodle named, Heidi and cat named Hallow. They do not talk or acknowledge each other.

My house is full of thrift store treasures and plants. I was diagnosed as a child with OCD and my home reflects that. Let's just say that I have thought about a career in professional organizing and interior design.

What I would like to do after graduation is become a teacher with an American Institution abroad or with the Department of Defense, and preferably in a Scandinavian country or Germany. Though I would not mind being back in Spain