Meet Kimberly Daniel of Keystone Instructional Services in North

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kimberly Daniel.

Kimberly, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Sometimes you will hear a person say they always knew they would be in the career field they are currently in. For me, that is definitely not the case. My career dream as a child was to be a pediatrician. I’m not even sure why. I really think it’s because most little girls dream of being “a baby doctor.” I truly believe I am in education to fill the void of what I didn’t have growing up. I believe every choice I made in life led me to exactly where I am today. I have this strong desire to be for every child and every family what I didn’t have in my life. My mother died when I was thirteen months old, and my stepmother was in my life for only a brief period of time. I was raised by a manly man, a no-nonsense type of man. No sensitive stuff was allowed.

As a result, I was a tomboy. If a guy could do it, I was going to try it too. I lacked the nurturing side that is passed down to a woman from her mother. I don’t even remember if I played with dolls, but I remember racing and playing baseball, kickball, and any other physical game with the boys who lived up the street. If it was rough, I wanted to be involved. In middle school, the boys on my street saw me as the girl who could hold her own against them, and the other boys in the neighborhood were starting to look at me in a different way. When I entered my teenage years, I found myself dealing with all types of emotions with no one to talk to about them. I could either go to my dad or my little brother, but neither of those seemed like an appropriate choice, so I took my chances and dealt with things on my own. That was not a wise decision, but what other choice did I have?

Well, one poor decision led to another and I ended up getting pregnant my junior year of high school. I remember having to tell my dad and the disappointment I saw in his eyes made me feel like I had really messed up my life for good. I remember “running away” that evening. I had no one to turn to and I felt ashamed, abandoned, and like a total failure. My “runaway” journey was short lived because I really wasn’t about that life and sitting in the abandoned house next door got a little creepy once it started to get dark so I walked back home. What seemed like the worst day of my life back then actually makes me laugh now because as soon as it started to get dark, I thought “Girl go home.” Fast forward nine months later, my beautiful baby girl, Meagen, was born at the beginning of my senior year of high school. I had no idea what I was going to do or how I was going to do it. I just knew something had to be done. That major life event sparked the development of Coach D. That’s what my students call me. Over the years, Coach D has become everything I needed before, during, and after high school. Every experience I encountered while raising myself and my five children has molded me into a consistent, knowledgeable resource for youth and their families.

When I was a young teenage mother, I had no idea that there were programs that would assist me in transitioning from high school to college. As my children got older, I had no idea how important it was to make sure they chose their path to success based on their gifts and passions. The only bit of encouragement I had to offer my kids at that time was the same one parents still offer today, “make sure you keep your grades up so you can go to college.” In hindsight, I should have made sure my kids knew what they wanted to become in life, what college they aspired to attend, and how they planned to get there. I didn’t know much about soft skills, the importance of community service, Advanced Placement courses, etc. I just knew that the next step after high school was college. Now, however, I see how my personal journey has given me a better understanding of the vital process necessary in the high school to college transition. I began working in higher education and I learned all about financial aid.

While working at the college level, I encountered many parents who were just as clueless as I was, but by the time they were sitting in my office, it was too late to educate them on entry-level scholarships and grants that their child could have qualified for before graduating high school. This seemed to be a recurring situation. Every year, I would watch students and parents take out loans to fund college. It became too much to bear and I decided I needed to transition from college to high school to help right these wrongs. I was able to secure my teaching certification through an alternative certification program and the rest is history. I have been working to prepare students for life after high school since 2008. This has been the most rewarding journey. And although I wasn’t able to prepare my own children as well as I wish I could have, I am determined to have my grandchildren fully prepared. I spend my days, as well as many nights and weekends, making sure I am knowledgeable of all the changes in financial aid, acceptance policies, and changes/updates in career paths.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Smooth? Webster defines smooth as being “free from difficulties or impediments.” My life has been anything but smooth. My mother died from breast cancer when I was 13 months old, so I’ve always dealt with the orphan spirit. I was raised in a home where domestic violence was the norm. I’ve witnessed occurrences no teenaged girl should ever see because it really distorts your mindset in relation to what or who you should allow in your life. I found myself the mother of a beautiful little girl at the age of 16, married at 18, mother of 5 at age 23, divorced at age 26. I was a victim of date rape before it had a technical name and I am a rape and domestic abuse survivor. I worked multiple jobs while earning my degree and raising my children. I’ve experienced what many would consider multiple losses to get to where I am today; however, as I became older, I discovered that I’ve never lost at anything in life. I’ve championed every roadblock, detour, or obstacle that was sent my way and because of my own situations, many other people have discovered the strength they need to do the same.

Keystone Instructional Services – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
By day, I am an Entrepreneurship teacher, College and Career Center Advisor, After-school Program Coordinator, FBLA Advisor, and Summer Bridge Coordinator. By night and on weekends, I operate Keystone Instructional Services. KIS was founded for the purpose of making sure all youth, not just the ones I work with at my school, have access to relevant, up-to-date strategies that will help them obtain the best possible education and give them assistance in choosing a purposeful career path they are passionate about. This will happen at a much faster pace when parents, educators, and community members all possess relevant, up-to-date information and when they all partner and collaborate to form the village our children need to succeed. Many people call me “THE PLUG” because either I have access to what people need, or I know how to get it. I’ve always said, “I wish I had a me when I was a kid!” My work inside and outside of the classroom centers around equipping people with the necessary tools to excel in every area of their lives.

I have been able to take the skills and knowledge I obtained working as a Case Manager with the Georgia Department of Labor, a Financial Aid Director, a teacher, coach, and College and Career Center Advisor to develop educational workshops and professional development sessions, author books, design curriculum, and to overhaul after-school programs, etc. Although I provide services related to curriculum design, improving classroom instruction, teen mentorship, student success strategies, relationship building, soft skills, increasing parent involvement, entrepreneurial ventures, and women/girl’s empowerment, my specialty area is assisting families with the transition from high school to college. My most popular workshops are: The College Process Made Easy, I Got Accepted to College. Now What?, Transitioning Smoothly from Middle School to High School, and Securing The Scholarship. A lot of the parents that I work with are guiding their children with the same knowledge they gained when they themselves transitioned to college. However, many aspects of college admission have changed. My role is to make sure I bridge any gaps in information and to have families prepared for the transition well before their student’s senior year of high school.

I believe I am most known for being transparent and open. I believe my story of overcoming adversity and trials is what gives me credibility. Most of the time when people counsel or mentor others, they do it from their “delivered” or “on the other side of the mountain” side of life, and that’s only going to reach so many people. We have to be vulnerable enough to discuss our “going through” side as well. People need to know that you’re coming to them with experiences and facts that are real. Some people can only share what they have heard or read about. I can share the nitty gritty details of what the experience is really about and therefore, youth, single mothers, educators, etc. really relate to me and we build relationships over our similar situations. I think that’s what helps me build lasting relationships with kids. My life is relational. We can literally sit down, one on one, and have true-to-life conversations that on the front end just sound like great storytelling; but on the back end, become some of the best mentorship and/or coaching sessions. I believe that’s what truly sets me apart. I can relate to the teen that everyone wrote off because of some bad choices that were made. I can relate to that single parent who is working multiple jobs and going to school at night. I can relate to that educator whose truly passionate about her profession but is surrounded by people who seem to only want a steady paycheck with weekends and summers off. I can relate to the educator who has to sit through yet another professional development day that is really not designed to improve their classroom experience. When I lead educator professional development sessions, the first item on my agenda is to let my attendees know up front that I deal with the same situations they experience on a daily basis. I’m not sitting at home designing curriculum based off of hypothetical situations, maybe’s, and what if’s. I’m designing curriculum, professional development sessions, and resources based on what I see happening daily in classrooms and schools. I assure them that I am there to help lessen the burden, not add to it.

The most rewarding moments of my profession are the “off the stage” moments. Those moments when the workshop, PD, teen talks, etc. are over and I have a crowd of people around me thanking me for keeping it real or wanting to talk and find out more about what I do or how they can get additional resources. I’m truly a relational person and I love it when an individual’s mindset begins to shift and the “buy-in” starts to take place. That’s what it’s all about for me. Helping people move from a thought to a vision. Those are my proud moments.

What is “success” or “successful” for you?
I define success by the lives I am able to impact on a daily basis. Striving for success is a daily grind. Sometimes I’m planting seeds. Other times I’m watering seeds. The life long relationships I build with the people I encounter and the impact they say I have on their lives is what keeps me returning to the battlefield each day.

Pricing:

• How to Survive High School – $15 (Teen Girl Book)
• God Was Waiting on Me – $20 (Women’s Empowerment Book)
• Workshops – Held on location, $25 per person/minimum of 10

Contact Info:

• Address: 7527 Rowell Road #566562 Atlanta, GA 31156
• Website: www.keystoneinstruction.com
• Phone: 770-696-6454
• Email: keystoneinstruction@gmail.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/Kimberly_wilson_daniel
• Facebook: https://bit.ly/2Vv8II4
• Twitter: http://twitter.com/kimwilsondaniel
• Other: linktr.ee/kimberly_wilson_daniel

Image Credit:
Creatives Lair, Inc., Tammy McGarity Photography, Shakeima Clark Chapman

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