april vip supermom
"I wanted my kids to know that, through hard work and tenacity, all our dreams are possible.”
Shawna Wentlandt
MOM - PROFESSOR - MARINE SPOUSE
story by liesel schmidt A college professor with a PhD in leadership and organizational change, Shawna Wentlandt teaches many different courses at different institutions throughout the year. Naturally, education is extremely important to her. And as a mom, so is balancing her responsibilities to her job with her responsibilities to her family. “It’s obviously less busy now than in years past, but my kids' education needs have been the primary focus as I have homeschooled them all at one time or another,” says Wentlandt, whose three children are aged 26, 21 and 15. “My youngest is still attending school 22 • VIP ALEXANDRIA MAGAZINE
online from home. I didn't always feel I did a good job at it in the hardest days and had a lot of 'mom guilt' for working on my own goals when they were little. We have moved 14 times for my husband’s job with the Marines since we got married in 1999, so earning my own college degrees, being a single mom when my husband traveled extensively, working and taking care of the kids was exhausting at times. Working from home helped because I could get a lot done before everyone else was awake or during naps when the kids were small. I have really mastered multitasking and working whenever the opportunity presents itself around the needs of my family and I wanted my kids to know that, through hard work and tenacity, all our dreams are possible.” As a working mom, Wentlandt feels that she has shown her kids an invaluable example of pursuing and achieving dreams. “For the past 12 years, I have had the amazing opportunity to work 100 percent from home, so being here all the time plus earning extra income is the best of both worlds—working and being at home for my kids when they needed me. I am proud to be the first person in my family to even go to college, and my kids saw the grind that was. They know that they have the ability to go after whatever they want because we told them—and showed them—in the ways my husband and I aggressively pursued our goals while also focusing on our family and the benefits that stability provided. It makes me a better mom because I am happy in myself, which reflects in my relationships with my husband and kids.”
