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Highlands Today

Hitting Her Stride

Kathy Waters/Highlands Today

Becky Rousch, director of community education for South Florida Community College, has her hands full coordinating programs such as Leadership Highlands, Elder Hostel, Heartland Senior Games and Lifetime Learners.

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By MANDY SHEETS

For Highlands Today

Published: August 25, 2008

Becky Rousch is constantly looking for diamonds in the rough.

Whether it's a new restaurant or an interesting person, she is always searching for things that make Highlands County unique.

"The great thing about my job is that I get to discover things and then share them with people," said Rousch, director of community education at South Florida Community College.

She organizes Leadership Highlands, Elderhostel and Lifetime Learners programs for the college, all of which benefit from her discoveries.

"I love to find things off the beaten path and then incorporate them into one of our programs," she said. "I'm always looking for things that are unique to us, things that make you say 'Holy cow - no one else has this."

Her projects seem to grow exponentially, like SFCC's summer camp, which started as a couple weeks of themed activities and evolved into an all-summer youth enrichment camp that lasts all summer.

"I feel like I have really hit my stride with this job. I am firing on all burners and loving it," Rousch said.

Before coming to SFCC, she worked as a teacher in Wisconsin, and one year in particular stands out in her mind.

"My schedule was sixth and seventh grade social studies in the morning, then eighth grade study hall, then lunch, then I had afternoon kindergarten," Rousch said. "It was an awful schedule. No teacher should have to do that."

She also had a career in direct sales through Mary Kay. She didn't ever get the pink Cadillac, but she did get to meet Mary Kay herself.

"I think salespeople and teachers are really flip sides of the same coin," Rousch said. "Both have to develop enthusiasm for the topic and connect to their audience."

Although Rousch had jobs that thrust her into the limelight and has a dynamic personality, she didn't always have that confidence.

"People who know me don't believe this, but I used to be very shy," Rousch said, with a laugh.

After participating in the Dale Carnegie training, she lost her fear of public speaking and the inhibitions that come with it.

"Once I became comfortable and talking, I never stopped," Rousch said. "That program opened me up to another world, and I would never go back. I often spend time thinking about what my life would have been like if I hadn't spent so much time being so timid."

Rousch considers her recent 60th birthday a major milestone for her.

"I feel like as a 60 year old woman, I have really come into my own and solidified who I am, what I want to do and what I don't want to do," Rousch said.

She doesn't see herself as someone who will retire and pick up hobbies, but she also realizes she may need to slow down from a sprint.

"I started seriously thinking about whether I can continue at this pace forever," Rousch said. "I'm starting to let a few things go and concentrate only on the things I really enjoy in life."

The best indication of age she said is that she switched from driving a red pick-up truck to an ink-blue Ford Taurus.

"I can carry more passengers and have dry storage space," Rousch said. "Plus it seems to fit a 60-year-old lady a little better."

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