Meet Kristy Gronseth

We were lucky to catch up with Kristy Gronseth recently and have shared our conversation below.

Kristy, looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?

I get my work ethic from my faith in God, the upbringing that I had, as well as the people that I have surrounded myself with. I grew up as an only child of a single mom. She always worked hard, typically 2 jobs, to provide for me, taught me to be an independent woman and taught me how to be gritty. She was a respected worker in a male dominated field of construction and was able to hold her own. My father was also a strong influence in my learing how to be hard working He never graduated high school and went on to be a successful business owner. He grew up on a farm in Wisconsin, and was the oldest of 6. His father left his mom with 6 kids on a farm so he left the Navy, without permission, to go home and move his mom and siblings to the city. When he was done, he went back to the Navy and was thrown into the Brig for going A-wall. He got his GED in the brig, turning negative into positive. What is most impressive about this, is that he got an honorable discharge proving that he came back to good standing after going A-wall which is not an easy feat. He worked hard to build a reputation of integrity despite starting with a besmirched record. Both of my parents instilled trust in God, through their walks in their own faith. God’s purpose for his people are to work hard, with integrity, serving others. This is what I saw emulated in my parents. My mom worked hard to serve ME, make sure I had what I needed. My dad did as well, but also worked hard serving his clients as a hearing aid salesman, briging hearing to those whom without his help, would not have it! I have surrounded myself with people whom I admire, who work hard, always put service toward people first, and have integrity in the work they put forth. This is is what has shaped my work ethic.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

I guess the best way to tell you about what I do and why I am excited about it, in all of my roles, is that I strive to serve others. I am first and foremost a child of God. This is what drives me to serve others. I have the purest example of serving others, in the author of my faith, Jesus. This faith is the bedrock in my role as a wife, a mom, a professional in the medical field and even in my modeling. When you lead with a spirit of service, it forms your role in all of the areas that you “work.” I am aware that this publication is focused on business, artistic endeavors and the such, so this is what I will focus on, but without my faith and my family, these would not be important.
I became an Occupational Therapist in 1994. It is truly hard to believe that I have been practicing in my field for 31 years, but it has been an incredible career. I have had the opportunity to treat in the areas of acute care, rehabilitation, and outpatient settings. I have been able to treat clients that range in age from infant to 100 years old. I have met people from all walks of life and all reaches of the globe. I have focused my practice primarily on neurological disorders, most especially in spinal cord injury rehab, brain injury rehab and adaptive driving. I have also seen all other types of diagnoses including developmental delay, orthopedic injuries, hands, and everything in-between. The most recent setting, that I am really excited about is teaching at the University level. I have, in the past, provided continuing education classes across the United States, as well as guest lecturing at the university level. However, recently, I have had a steady gig teaching along side a professor in the neurological lab at the University of New Mexico as well as leading a group in Problem Based Learning. I absolutely love this privilege and learn just as much from the students as I feel that they are learning from me. It is an honor to be able to share the practical knowledge that I have picked up over the last 31 years of clinical practice. Occupational Therapy has shaped my life in such a profound way. It has helped me learn to relate to all types and ages of people and see value in all that I come into contact with. I am forever indebted to this amazing career.

I became a model in 2020. What a crazy time to enter this field, right?! Just as Covid was rearing its ugly head. So needless to say, it has taken a lot of effort to get my work out there and my face and work in front of people. I really got into modeling as I felt it was a unique platform to show people that they can reinvent themselves at any age. It would allow me to get in circles that I would never have access to in any other role in my life.
In my prior marriage, I was in an abusive relationship. This doesn’t do much for one’s self esteem, to say the least. After I got divorced, worked hard on myself through counseling and in my faith, and started to feel that I was worthy of more, I felt that this platform may allow me to show others that they too can emerge as a butterfly from a cocoon. I want to inform people that their past does not have to define them. They can change the narrative, just as I have.
I also wanted to empower young men and women, that being seen as beautiful does not have to come at the cost of your personal dignity. I have seen so may women and men, young and old, feel that they have to look promiscuous in order to succeed. I thought “If I can be successful being classy, respecting my self and only showing what I am comfortable with” then maybe they would see that as well. Maybe I could help someone feel that they can start over, just as I did. This industry is the polar opposite of my medical industry and I am thriving. They too could if they just worked hard, believed they could, and maybe had someone like me, and so many others that have gone before them as an example of the power of trying something new. I have met a whole new group of people, that I would never had the opportunity to meet and learn from. I have met so many beautiful creatives, young people who are as beautiful on the inside as they are on the outside, and whom challenge me to learn about other belief systems, lifestyles, etc. I have become so much richer because of the relationships that I have with my modeling community. The designers, make up artists, the hair professionals, photographers, stylists, organizers, etc. Each and every one that has touched me in this industry as well as my medical industry, have truly changed me and continue to shape me into a more loving person as I have received it from so many. This has been the best year of my modeling, yet as I am now signed with three agencies. My primary agency in New Mexico-DME Talent Agency, my Denver, Co agency – The Block Agency and my New York agency – Seasoned Models NYC. I get to walk for an amazing, award winning designer (whom I can not currently reveal) in August and have other amazing opportunities coming up very soon. I have a great feeling about this year professionally, but even more importantly, I have a great knowledge, that I will get to meet many more amazing people this year. For this I am sincerely excited and grateful.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

I feel that the most impactful piece of knowledge that has helped me along my journey, is that I was unconditionally loved. My mom was pivotal in helping me experience unconditional love and this love propelled me into a knowledge that no matter what I did or whom I became, that I was loved. Nothing could separate that from the two of us. This in turn, allowed me to fully understand the unconditional love of God for me. This knowledge has given me strength in times that I felt unloved or not understood. I knew that I was a creation of The Most High and that I was not a mistake. I am uniquely gifted to be just who I am and that I was made for a purpose. This has given me strength in the most difficult times. I have a favorite verse that I call my life verse. It is Phillipians 4:13 and it reads, “I can do everything through Christ who gives me strength.” I have clung to this verse more times than I can count in my life. It is so important to me that I have it tattooed on my foot. It is an ever present reminder of the strength I have in me to bring me through difficult times. The last piece of knowledge that I feel has been most impactful, is that if you strive to serve others in your work, your passions, etc. that you can’t loose. This does not mean not taking care of your self in the midst of service, but that what you do has an aspect of service to others. My life is lead by love, the knowledge that I have the power of God working within me and serving others. This is what is most impactful in my journey. This is the backbone of my purpose.

I feel that in order to move through your journey, you need to know who your are, what you want your legacy to be, and how you made people feel while you were working through your journey. Without direction, your can’t properly point your sails for your journey.

If you knew you only had a decade of life left, how would you spend that decade?

There are always challenges, aren’t there?! I feel that my particular challenge right now, and quite honestly throughout my adult journey, has been balance. How do I balance my roles as a wife, a mom, a volunteer, as well as my two careers?

Although my children are now grown and out of the house, I am still needed as a mom. I am fortunate to still have 3 of my 5 adult children, in New Mexico. They still want to spend time with my husband and I, what a privilege. We set aside one day a week for family dinner night and they, as well as any of their friends or significant others, come over and have dinner together. This is how we carve out intentional time together. Our daughter who lives in Denver has a specific day every week that she calls to catch up and our other son who lives in Denver, often texts between classes We all try to make family a priority. With 5, you can imagine the challenge of coordinating all of the schedules, but we have worked hard to stay connected.

I make it a priority to not have TV in my bedroom. When my husband and I retreat to our room, it is truly our retreat. We ensure that we eat dinner together every night and we always go to bed at the same time so we have quality time together. This is our intentional effort to put work, kids, and all other things aside to spend time together.

I have dedicated, as much as I can, to 4-5 days a week to my OT career and my weekends to my modeling and to my faith activities/volunteer work.
This schedule is somewhat salient, but this is currently how I am trying to balance my roles.

Where does this leave time for just me? I honestly don’t know. This is the difficulty in balance. I do try, once a month, to go to a nail salon and get a pedicure. All by myself, for me.

There are so many hours in a day, days in a week, and weeks in a month. I try to intentionally fill my days with more than work. I try to give myself grace when balance doesn’t show up. I lean heavily on my faith to give me direction and guidance in my constant striving to find balance in what is most important and revealing what should be my priority.

Contact Info:

• Website:
• Instagram: kristysilver
• Facebook:
• Linkedin:
• Twitter:
• Youtube:
• Yelp:
• Soundcloud:
• Other: You can email me at: [email protected]

Image Credits

Shadybear Photography
Shishotme Photography
Chipeta Trading Company Photography
Charlottestarup Photography
KCSoul Photography
Martidarlene Photography
RicLewis Photography
Brandon Lamar Photography
Jeanie Stehr Photography