Being self-employed and a single mother of four, I know that the right path isn’t always the easy one.
I have raised my children to be prepared for reality by challenging them to make smart decisions and never lose faith. When tragedy hit our family in 2015 with the loss of my late husband, Darren, our community and school staff wrapped my family into their arms and kept us afloat. The teachers and staff at the schools were compassionate and caring. We had moved to Fishers in 2001 for HSE Schools highly ranked school system. And, HSE’s teachers,
administrators, and staff made sure my children were functioning and achieving academic goals.
As a twenty-six-year Real Estate professional with Carpenter Realtors in Fishers, I know the value HSE Schools brings to our City and property values. HSE Schools’ high quality education may be the most important ingredient in the growth of Fishers over the past three decades. I have continued working in real estate and have sold homes in so many Fishers neighborhoods that the list would fill up this page. But also substitute taught for nine years in various HSE Schools, getting to know a broad cross section of HSE staff, parents, and children. I served on numerous PTO committees and sport booster boards. Volunteered within our schools for 18 years with many clubs and activities. I thoroughly enjoyed being the announcer for all the boys lacrosse games for HSE and FHS High Schools from 2010 – 2018. For several years, I was a female coach in youth sports, primarily football and basketball. It is always a joy when a now grown man, that I may barely recognize, smiles and greets me, “Hi, Coach Thomas!”
Today, three of my four children are independent adults – Dakota HSE 2013, Colton FHS 2016, and Cassidy HSE 2018. My youngest, Canyon, has just graduated from HSE high school in 2024 and will be a Freshman at Purdue University this fall. In addition to receiving excellent education at HSE Schools from great teachers, these four gained valuable lessons from football, lacrosse, DECA, drama/theater, unified track, best buddies, cheerleading, media broadcasting, volunteering and so many other great life-building experiences.
I want to ensure that all HSE School District families are afforded even greater opportunities than the ones my kids benefited from. And as I’ve shown, I am not afraid to ask the tough questions so that teachers, parents, and students understand what their school corporation is doing and the direction it’s going.
These past three and a half years on the HSE School Board have given me a wealth of experience and knowledge about our school corporation. We are a public school district, and from 7:00am to 4:30pm we educate all students, to ensure they have a meaningful and successful learning experience. I will continue to serve with a mama bear heart and always stay true to my integrity. As I consider each issue brought to the board, I remain grounded in my traditional values and conservative approach while understanding the challenges in an ever-changing society, economy and community.