In the photo on the right I am pictured with my
husband of almost three years. His name is Allen Carpenter and we met in
Charlottesville, VA where we went to high school together. Allen and I began
dating in the Spring of 1999 and we were married in November of 2001.
Allen and I both play music and that is
how we got to know each other. He plays the bass guitar and I play the
trumpet. I started playing trumpet in middle school and never stopped. I
became really involved in playing when I got to high school. There I joined the
Marching Band which was one of the best experiences of my life. I met a lot of
really amazing people. I also played in our high school’s Jazz Ensemble where I
really found the music that I was destined to play. During my senior year I was
concert master of the Jazz Ensemble and I won many awards for outstanding
soloist. In Marching Band I spent my senior year as co-drum major which taught
me a lot about leadership. Marching Band was a big part of the reason I wanted
to attend JMU. JMU has a great music program and I wanted to go somewhere where
I could continue what I love to do.
I entered JMU in the Fall of 1999 but
decided to take some time off after my first semester. I moved back to
Charlottesville and started working full time at UVA Credit Union where I
learned a lot about the banking industry. I decided in 2001 that I wanted to go
back to JMU and finish up my degree.
At JMU I decided that I wanted to major in
Economics and hopefully secure a future career in banking. I currently work at
CommonWealth One as a member service representative and I have gotten a lot of
experience. I will be graduating in May of 2005 and I’m looking forward to
continuing on to get my master’s degree in Business Administration and my law
degree in the near future.
