First and foremost, I would like to thank the Summerville High School Foundation for selecting me to become a part of the 2024 Hall of Fame. It is an honor, and I am grateful to join all the others who’ve come before me.
I am blessed. The groundwork for who I am today as a daughter, granddaughter, sister, wife, mother, friend, businesswoman, and the many other titles I hold today was laid by my phenomenal parents, brothers and grandparents. The unconditional love, support, care, the strong sense of family and the clear NO EXCUSES policy in our household growing up is carried with me always. I can absolutely attribute any success I have to that foundation.
Being a fourth generation Tuolumne County resident created a sense of pride in the history of our community, in my family and in Summerville High. While my grandparents did not attend Summerville High School, my great uncles, both of my parents, my aunt, uncles and many cousins all did, this gave me an overwhelming sense of family even before stepping foot on campus for the Þrst time. There was a feeling of comfort when I walked into a classroom and the teachers would share memories, they had of teaching my parents or other family members.
Carrying those strong values and the family history with me to Summerville High helped me to flourish while I was there and continue to do so after high school. It was at Summerville High that I met teachers like Wayne DeGennaro and Lee Suggs, whose passion for their students and academics demanded greatness. I also had the privilege to represent Summerville High as a part of its cross country, basketball and volleyball teams. I had my greatest athletic success on the softball field, where I was a four-year varsity starter, and three times named to the All Mother Lode League team. Our team won the Mother Lode League Championship our senior year. My battery mate, Phoebe Low and I were named the league’s Co-Most Valuable Players.
It was in athletics that I met coaches like Kristy Dwyer, Darcy Wingo and Ben Watson, who each had a passion for their student athletes and demanded greatness. They taught me to push through the hard, that being coached hard isn’t easy, but that the other side of hard is success. It was also at Summerville High that I learned the value of giving back to our community. Again, my parents laid a foundation of being community minded and giving back. The beauty of that is once I was in high school there were choices that I was making on my own to be involved, specifically in ASB and Interact.
Finally, Summerville High is where I met my husband, Sean Leveroos. We were young, and although we didn’t know exactly where life would lead us or what our journey would look like, we first created a friendship and then a love that has lasted 30 plus years and has laid a foundation for our four children, Makila, Braylon, Bryce and Mikaelyn, all of whom have either graduated from, are currently attending, or will attend Summerville High.
After high school and competing for the Modesto Junior College Softball team, where I was a two-year starter, I decided to hang up my cleats and began my coaching career. At the same time, I was finishing up my Bachelor’s Degree at Stanislaus State University. I graduated from Stanislaus State and then decided to pursue a Master’s Degree in Sport Science, with an emphasis in coaching. While working on my master’s degree, I became the head softball coach at Modesto Junior College and helped lead the team to some of the most successful seasons MJC had ever had. We went to the playoffs each year and in my third year of coaching, the team won the conference title, and I was named the NorCal Junior College Coach of the Year.
It was during that time that Sean and I decided we wanted to raise our family in Tuolumne County and bring what we had learned while being away back to our community.
When we moved home, I had the opportunity to work for my dad’s CPA firm and Sean was hired as a teacher and an assistant football coach at Summerville High. We both quickly became involved in community service activities that were dear to our hearts, including being on the Summerville High School Foundation Board of Directors. One of the more noteworthy moments of my time on the Foundation Board was being on the team of people who helped to get a Summerville High School bond passed. The bond funded many capital improvement projects at Summerville High, including the new arts building and the amazing athletic stadium. There are not many venues you will find that have the beautiful atmosphere that Summerville High has.
Around this time, a long-time family friend and supporter, Todd Simonson encouraged me to consider a career with Edward Jones, a Fortune 500 company. With three young children and a supportive husband, I took a leap of faith and landed in a career that couldn’t have been more perfectly molded for me. I love what I do. I love “coaching” my clients. I love serving our community, and after all these years, I recognize that I’m still a coach, just in a different field. Recently I’ve been asked to serve as a leader and mentor at Edward Jones, where I’ve taken on more responsibility for helping others in our business get their start.
Today you will find Sean, myself and our four kids on the football field on Friday nights. Or you will find one or more of us roaming the campus for a variety of reasons almost any day of the week, always supporting Summerville High events. I am currently involved with the Summerville Bears Quarterback Club, where our primary focus is to provide funding for Summerville High’s athletic programs, with an emphasis on the football and cheer programs. The Club also provides scholarships to deserving student-athletes and provides complimentary livestreaming of most Summerville High football games and cheer programs.
The foundation provided to me while attending Summerville High School has led me to a life of servant leadership, whether it’s serving my family, my school, my community, or my clients. I’m very proud that Summerville High is such a big part of my life. I am grateful and proud to accept this honor! Thank you!