I grew up in Pearl River, New York, the youngest of ten children. I have seven sisters and two brothers. Needless to say, there was always something going on in our house and I had to figure out pretty quickly how to get along. Although our house was pretty big, we had only one bathroom, so some would consider it a functionally obsolete home in today’s market. We didn’t know any different. While my siblings would argue that I was spoiled, I worked to make money any way that I could: washing cars, delivering newspapers, cleaning floors at the local convenience store and scratching my sisters’ backs…
After graduating from high school, I attended American University in Washington, DC. I chose to major in political science because I’ve always had an intense interest in politics and government. During my last two years at American, I tended bar in Georgetown. I earned enough to pay all of my tuition and upkeep, thrilled my parents, and had a great time working in a college bar – I thought I was pretty cool! After deciding that I did not want to remain in the restaurant business, I took a job as a radio dispatcher in the services division at IBM; it was just about the lowest level job you could get. From there, I moved into an administrative position in the marketing division and eventually worked my way up to being a marketing representative. My ten years at IBM were invaluable, but the greatest thing I learned during that time was how to see your customers as your partners, always treating them fairly and bending over backwards to do the right thing on their behalf.
For my next career move, I became a mortgage loan officer with BF Saul in Bethesda, MD, a change that gave me the opportunity to work for a smaller company and be more of my own boss. Within my first year, I had moved into the top 10% of all loan officers in the company. Despite my success and how much I enjoyed the work, I had three small children at home by this time, and needed to switch to a job with a steadier source of income and benefits.
My next stop was Cap Gemini, the largest computer system integrator in Europe with a small footprint here in the States. By luck, I found my way into the telecom department during the telecom boom years. I was in the right place at the right time; we did great system implementations for our clients and the work was fun. The customers appreciated our efforts to do right by them and fix any issues when they arose. I spent seven years at Cap Gemini – every year my sales were in the top 5% and one year, I was the top salesperson in the entire company in the United States. All in all, it was a great experience. When the boom ended, Cap Gemini merged with another company and I decided that it was time to move on to my next endeavor.
Remembering how much I enjoyed being a loan officer and the real estate business, in general, I decided to take the plunge and become a real estate agent instead of returning to lending. Looking back, I have to say it was a pretty gutsy move – I was getting into a business that 80% of new agents get out of after just one year. But, by that point, I had a solid sales history, loved working with people and knew I could handle it. I have now been an agent for fifteen years – I have sold over 400 homes and over $250 million in residential sales. I absolutely love my job. I have met the most interesting people and no two days are the same. While I work odd hours and my weekends are not always free, I have never regretted the decision to become an agent for a single minute. This career choice has also given me flexibility; I work hard for my clients, have never missed something that is important to my kids, and my success is 100% dependent on myself.
My spare time is spent with my four kids: Keegan a graduate of University of St. Andrews in Scotland, Reilly is a graduate of Towson University, Quincy is a junior at Towson and Tully who is a at Montgomery College.
