I was born 24 October 1968 in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. When I was nine, my parents (both of whom have now retired from over 30 years of teaching) moved my older sister, me and my younger brother to Tulsa, OK. In 1987, I graduated from Booker T. Washington High School and started my college career at Kentucky State University as an honors student in the Whitney Young Scholars Program. I worked hard enough in high school to receive academic, band, track and softball scholarships to KSU.