ADA LOVELACE DAY!

When I first heard of the Ada Lovelace day pledge, to blog about a woman in technology whom I admire, it didn't take me long to figure out who I would be blogging about. Now you can shun me for being GenY and too family oriented (pshaw), but the woman in technology whom I most admire, is my mom, Linda Brumfield.
Linda Brumfield grew up in the small town of Ironton, Ohio. In high school she played basketball, and played all-state flute and piccolo in the band. After high school she began attending college at Ohio State University and graduated a K-12 educator. She became married, had four children, and slowly continued her education at OSU obtaining her masters degree in computer science. She went from school teacher to the first tech coordinator in the school district. She traveled school to school designing, implementing, managing and maintaining the school's new network infrastructures. She brought computer technology and public education together for the first time in the school district.
In 1996, Linda fell ill. The disease being rare and widely unrecognized, was mistreated, causing her illness to not only worsen but also causing additional health problems. She began a tough time in her life. With the illness, dealing with the beginning stages of divorce, and trying to raise four kids on her own, she moved with her four children away from southern Ohio out west to a drier, healthier climate and a fresh start. Although times were hard for her, she continued her pursuit of computer science and networking technologies. Eventually she was hired for a job as a adjunct professor for DeVry University, and again began integrating technology and education. She was a full-time professor in the Networking and Telecommunications Management department for five years before she started a job at DeVry's corporate office. Due to health conditions she was allowed to work from home, and since then she has been designing course layouts, labs, materials and curriculums as well as continuing to teach on-line classes, for almost four years. To this day, she continues to work with the latest and greatest upcoming technologies to design and teach college courses per corporate and industry standards.
She's a compassionate, good hearted woman, someone who's always there to help a friend in need and be a shoulder to cry on. She's an excellent mother, showing my brothers and I that you can do anything in this life if you put your mind to it, and giving us her undying support and love. She's a superb peer and co-work who you can learn a lot from. She's a great teacher and example, in life and in the field. I couldn't be more proud to have such a smart talented woman in my life. HAPPY ADA LOVELACE DAY EVERYONE!