I was born in Omaha, Nebraska and graduated from Millard High School in 1979.  After graduation I went to the University of Nebraska.  In 1981 when William Applegate, and I, were married, we spent five years in Omaha at Offut Air Force Base before being transferred to Colorado Springs, where we raised our daughter Sarah.  It was during this time that I began working in elementary schools. In the year 1993 I graduated with a B.A. in Criminal Justice/Sociology from Chapman University.  In May of 2000 I graduated with a certificate in Elementary Education from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs.  After almost 24 years as an Air Force Family my husband retired and we moved to Paxton, Nebraska where he began teaching K-12 music again.  After a year in Paxton, I became interested in becoming a Media Specialist.  I began attending classes in the masters program at the University of Nebraska Kearney.  With my coursework nearly completed, I am presently a media specialist in the Legacy School District in Casa Grande, AZ.  We have over 1,000 students in the school that I am currently assigned.  Each week I work with 750 of these students in a library/classroom setting.  

As a hobby I have completed, or done restoration work, on nearly 80 stained glass panels.  This has been a blessing to be able to work on these projects.  See the "Hobbies Photo Gallery" page for some pictures of my projects.