Prior to joining ReUp Education, Dee led the marketing and communications efforts for the American Specialty Toy Retailing Association (ASTRA), a non-profit trade association providing education, resources, and networking opportunities for independent toy stores, toy manufacturers, and industry sales reps. Under her leadership, the organization saw year-over-year growth in member engagement, organic media placements, and attendee registration across their B2C and B2B initiatives.
When she’s not overthinking words or advocating for em-dashes, Dee is planning the next National Park she’ll cross off her list and reading her way through her stacks of books and magazines. Based in Chicago, she holds a degree in Journalism from Boston University.
A teacher once told Stephanie, “If you do not learn something new every day, you’ve wasted your day.” Stephanie took this to heart and pushes herself every day to challenge the way she thinks and how she interprets the world. But this wasn’t always the case.
It took me eight years to finish my undergraduate degree. Three different schools, two states, two kids, one marriage, and multiple degree changes later, I finally had my degree. I was one of those people who “life” happened to throughout my undergraduate experience. I never planned it to be that way, which makes my academic journey so fitting for a person like me.
My college journey is atypical. It started off when I was living in Memphis. I had applied and been accepted to several universities. I was offered an academic scholarship to Rhodes College, but I turned it down because they were a D III football program and I thought I could get better offers. (Ha. Youth.) But because I waited so long to accept any offers, there was no money for me to go to school.
When I coach students, one of the main things I focus on is their ‘why,’ or their motivation behind finishing their degree. I do this because in my own experience, my ‘why’ was what kept me going from an early age toward my goal of being the first person in my family to graduate from college. My ‘why’ was my older brother Jeffy.