Mrs. Watkins is a two-time breast cancer survivor who is thriving in all areas of her life. She received her undergraduate and MBA degree from North Carolina Central University. Her passion is teaching, and most of what she does centers around teaching. After retiring from an illustrious 30-year career in corporate America, she began pursuing her lifelong passion of teaching and tutoring. She worked as an Adjunct Professor in the Student Professional Development Program in the School of Business at her alma mater, North Carolina Central University, for four years. As part of her tutoring company, The Gift of Knowledge, she tutors children during the summer and after school during the school year. She is currently the Executive Director and principal of Gift of Knowledge Academy.
In July of 2011, she published her first book of poetry – Seasoned With His Love, where she talks about some of her life experiences including her 2 battles with breast cancer. It is a unique inspirational blend of prose and poetry that will warm your heart and encourage you to treasure all of life’s moments, great and small. In 2013, she published a set of 3 children’s books for beginning readers – Read? Yes, I Can! The books are designed to help build a beginning reader’s self-esteem and self-confidence.
In the fall of 2016, she and three other retired, female, NCCU alum, started Gift of Knowledge Academy, an independent, nonprofit (501(c)(3)), K-2 school in East Durham. She is the Executive Director and current principal of the school. They started Gift of Knowledge Academy because 60-80% of students are below grade level in literacy and math by the third grade. The numbers are worse for African Americans and Hispanics. She believes that every child deserves the opportunity to reach their full potential, and that begins with providing them with a firm foundation in literacy and math. The founders want to be proactive so that children don’t get behind in the first place. Most of their kindergarten students have been reading in 5 months. All of their graduates were at or above grade level in reading and math. Almost half of their second-grade graduates were actually reading on a 4th grade level.
Mrs. Watkins has presented several workshops at the annual North Carolina Head Start Association Conferences. Her workshops center around helping young children learn to read and enjoy doing it.
In February 2017, she started blogging for Fruit of the Spirit Messenger. Never think you are too old to learn something new.
Mrs. Watkins is also a member of Sisters Network® Triangle, an African American Breast Cancer Support Group that is committed to increasing local and national awareness of the devastating impact that breast cancer has in the African American community.
Mrs. Watkins studied the Bible extensively through Bible Study Fellowship International. During her eight-year study, she was a children’s program teacher for three years. She is an active member of Orange Grove Missionary Baptist Church in Durham, NC. As a gifted and dedicated teacher, she has been called upon to teach such classes as Understanding Discipleship, New Members Class, and Principles of Discipleship.