Our people: Changing direction

Portales resident Sharon Rowley was hit by a drunken driver in Santa Fe a little more than a week after graduating from high school and almost lost her life. The accident broke her back in two places and about 16 bones in her body. Rowley could no longer pursue an athletic scholarship to play volleyball at New Mexico State University, but while recovering, she managed to enroll in 1986 at Eastern New Mexico University.

How did the accident change your life?

Benna Sayyed: CMI staff photo

Lindsey-Steiner Elementary assistant principal Sharon Rowley, left, and principal Rick Segovia, right, discuss the school's reading plan for the upcoming school year. Rowley has been in education for more than 20 years.

Benna Sayyed: CMI staff photo

Lindsey-Steiner Elementary assistant principal Sharon Rowley checks emails in her office.

I guess I had already been through a lot of challenges growing up at the Girls Ranch of New Mexico, having to make decisions on my own and decide what I was going to do in school. Even though I had support, I had to make a lot of personal decisions.

Once I got well enough to know what was going on I just counted on the lord. My faith in God is strong. The doctors didn't know if I'd be able to walk or have children. After a while I was able to walk and everything got better and back to normal. I don't think what I've been up against is any more than what lots of people are up against. Things are just not always that blatant.

Are you involved in any programs against drunken driving because of your accident?

I have lots of contact with lots of kids. As the kids come through here (Lindsey-Steiner Elementary) I know them as they get older. For example, I played volleyball with the Portales High off-season girls volleyball team in Clovis. My personal belief is that I can make more of a difference in personal relationships with the kids. I try to do things as a one-on-one encouragement or ministry for kids. I can't put an age limit on it. I had a couple girls I really made a connection with a long time ago and was even their youth pastor through church. Now they're grown up and some of them are even my colleagues. They're teachers at the junior high. I just had a big baby shower for one of them at my house. I've watched this young woman grow up and get married. Now I've watched her start her family and she's a colleague of mine.

What was your inspiration to become an educator and an administrator in the field of education?

I never was one of those people who thought "I'm going to do that, that's my passion in life." I came here on a radio TV broadcasting degree. I worked in Washington, D.C., in the Senate. I got to watch a little bit of the Associated Press and how it worked. But I knew with that degree I would have to move around a lot and go to bigger cities. I really thought I would love it and I hated it.

I realized it wasn't going to work so I came back to New Mexico and started looking into some different things. It also created a love for small towns and for Portales. I chose this. I found a home in Portales and I thought "What can I do here? What can I do for the community that will touch lives?" That's when I decided to teach.

What attracts you to small towns?

I just love the small town setting. I hear so many people talk about wanting to get to a bigger town. There is a saying "The road that runs in and out of Portales goes anywhere in the world but I like living here. I love the people. When I was working in D.C., I used to come back and forth to see my then fiancé. It was like traveling back in time. But I would get here and instead of feeling disappointed, I felt so relaxed. I was mugged in D.C., but I don't have to worry about that here. It's not that it's great to look at; I came from a beautiful place. It's the people that make it beautiful.

What is your favorite part of being the assistant principal of Lindsey-Steiner?

I really like when students are sent to the office for rewards for doing something good. Whether they earn high scores or did good on a test or good citizenship. This is a new job for me and I'm just hanging on as tight as I can. My future plans are to do well on the job I'm in.

— Compiled by CMI staff writer Benna Sayyed