Ms. Huffington is our new business teacher here at Palestine High School. Ms. Huffington somewhat stumbled into the world of business as she wasn’t sure what she wanted to do after high school. She could not decide on a major, so she went to a trade school after her first semester in college to obtain a cosmetology license. Ms. Huffington opened a hair and tanning salon at the age of 21 after graduating. After a successful seven years, she decided to switch things up and venture down a different path. 

Ms. Huffington went on to work at the State Farm Corporate headquarters in Bloomington, Illinois for 17 years. She said, “I held positions as an Editor for the internal monthly publication with 100,000 readers. I acquired Master Communicator Awards for my efforts on the publication. I then moved to a business analyst role where I became a consultant, traveling across the United States, solving business problems and teaching others to solve additional problems once I moved on to the next location.” Ms. Huffington went back and obtained a Bachelor of Science in Organizational Management and Ethics from Oklahoma Wesleyan University while working full-time. After graduating, she opened a State Farm Insurance Agency in Marshall, Illinois. 

After a short time, Ms. Huffington decided that she did not want to spend the rest of her career in sales and closed the Insurance Agency. Ms. Huffington stated that she “then held a series of jobs such as a mall store manager, a shipping manager, a Director over three automotive service departments, an accounts payable, purchasing and event manager at a manufacturing company, and most recently, the general manager for a roofing company in Bloomington, IN.” Now, that is a lot!

Why Ms. Huffington decided to come to Palestine is also a little bit of an indirect coincidence. In the past year, the roofing company Ms. Huffington had been managing closed and left her unemployed over the summer. A few of her friends asked her if she had ever entertained the thought of teaching. Ms. Huffington says, “I had, but I didn’t know the steps involved since I had a business degree and not a teaching degree.” As it turns out, it is possible for her to teach, even without a teaching degree. Ms. Huffington searched in the Illinois job bank and found our little town of Palestine. 

Ms. Huffington has a 19-year-old daughter named Lydia who is a freshman in college studying international languages. She also has an 18-year-old foster daughter named Jordan who is a senior in high school; Jordan works at Mill Creek Park part-time and according to Ms. Huffington, “hopes to become a neo-natal nurse.” Ms. Huffington also said, “When I’m not hanging out with them or my friends, you can find me playing my bass guitar or running the sound board at church, playing Pickle Ball, a new habit I picked up this summer, or reading or binging a show.”

After hearing about her background and life, I asked Ms. Huffington if there is anything she would like to tell the student body. Her response was, “Don’t be afraid to take risks. Try something new and if it isn’t what you thought it would be or isn’t working out for you, try something else. I love that I have a lot of diversity in my work history. It has brought a lot of people into my life from different backgrounds, and they have all enriched my world. I’m looking forward to meeting even more individuals here at Palestine High School.”

Thank you, Ms. Huffington for giving this little hometown high school a shot! We are so happy to have you here!