Mary Beth Kerly

My journey to this point has been full of unexpected opportunities. I'm a small town girl who grew up in rural Delaware, went to a small college, and thought my career would be with the local electric company from where I'd eventually retire.

After being laid off from the electric company, YES, LAID OFF from a utility, who'd of thunk, my husband and I made the decision to make a major move from Delaware to Florida. That decision completely changed the trajectory of my life. I decided to leave my career in Public Relations and Marketing and work part time as an instructor at Hillsborough Community College in Tampa. I was bit by the teaching bug! I found my purpose.

A strange thing happened when an opportunity to serve Governor Jeb Bush as his Special Assistant, serving the southwest region of the state, arose. I decided to take a chance and took the job. I learned so much about leadership, purpose, policy, and networks during that time. All very important skills that have transferred into my classroom.

As I found out some time later, many of those skills are a part of the Entrepreneurial Mindset. Working with students on their business ideas over the past 6 years has allowed me to see the power behind the ability to take a chance, be persistent, have self confidence and follow your purpose. I'm thrilled to share these experiences and lessons learned in the writing of the books to share with other teachers, professors and business professionals.