Meet Rebecca Engle

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Rebecca Engle. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Rebecca, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?
I believe finding your purpose is a journey of self-discovery. For me, it involved exploring my passions, values, and interests. It would be dishonest to tell you that finding my purpose was an easy journey. I always felt I needed to be someone I wasn’t in order to impress others. It took me until my senior year of high school to be able to discover my true purpose. The day I signed the papers to graduate early was the day I started my journey of self-discovery and personal reflection of my past on the things I did enjoy doing. I dropped the things that I did not enjoy but did anyway in order to impress friends and family. From a young age, I have enjoyed helping others and crafting. As young as 11 years old, I was speaking at my 5th grade graduation, volunteering in my community, and making rubber band bracelets for others. Through service and the gift of giving, I was able to find a community. The community I found helped me find my interest. Everything I do now was simply created by my passion to serve. I would put myself out there to volunteer for new things I had never done before. Whether it was speaking in front of people after overcoming language delays, volunteering to work with kids through programs like PALS and Zooming tutors, interning for Congress at the bold age of 17, or making rubber band bracelets for kids battling cancer at 12 years old, these small things led me to find my purpose: to teach, create, speak out, and encourage my community to be an active part of the democratic process.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I am Rebecca Engle. I am 20 years old and soon to be 21. As a college senior, I find myself most excited for the next few years that follow.Through the years I have had the opportunity to explore a variety of passions and interests. I have found that centering my aspirations around the things that I am most passionate about brings not only satisfaction but increased success. My dedication to particular causes and my ability to envision changes has created a world of opportunity. I have been honored to sit on various nonprofit boards, working to help others. At 19, I was on the ballot and was successfully elected as a Precinct in my local community. Both volunteerism and public service have given me the opportunity to speak publicly about important issues and also the privilege to learn from experienced leaders in our community. Several years ago I began a small knitting business and it has been very successful. My life has been a whirlwind of activity, in a good way.

As 2024 approaches, I am preparing to graduate college, become a certified teacher and move out on my own. While these changes have me nervous they are also exciting. I love to teach and place tremendous value on the importance of community and leadership. I am looking forward to taking these interests to the next level, with more focus and greater independence. More exciting is the possibility that sharing my story, knowledge and experience will inspire someone else to get out and make the world a better place.

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 understand the value of hard work. Behind each of my successes was hard work. Next, be authentic and reliable. If I said I would be there, I was there early. I didn’t put in airs to get respect, I earned it through actions. Lastly, do not get discouraged if you need to rework the plan, the goal or the method. Competition is always happening,but the willingness to collaborate, seek help and network can be a gift. Lastly, be flexible, failing at something doesn’t mean the end. Change it, adjust it and continue moving forward, sometimes you can find success in the unexpected..

Who has been most helpful in helping you overcome challenges or build and develop the essential skills, qualities or knowledge you needed to be successful?
I have been very lucky to have found great support from a number of people throughout the years. At a young age, I faced developmental delays that made learning super challenging. I was fortunate enough to have teachers who fostered my diverse interests and showed me ways to bring them together. Be it business, history, or education these teachers made me think outside the box and ask how can I bring these together in a meaningful way. That pointed toward tutoring and before I knew it that expanded to childcare, teaching preK and advocating for Special Education. Soon I will be a certified teacher with my own classroom. For every person the dream and the journey will be different, but my advice would be to surround yourself with people who believe in you and prove them right.

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