Anna Winders is a dedicated mother, wife, and advocate for her community but her life-defining moment came before she had the ability to understand its impact. When she was 2-years-old Anna was adopted. This not only defined who she is, but has also taught her a lot about herself, relationships, and unconditional love.
Anna has had some rough years – starting when she was a teenager. “To put it mildly, I am not the same person I was then. I spent over a year in an alcohol and drug rehabilitation facility before I was even of legal drinking age. I even spent time living in a couple homeless shelters with some very wonderful people who taught me a lot about life, tolerance, and the ability to give, no matter how little you have.” Anna later became a “non-traditional student” and had a child in the first year of her BS program. She took a break from school over a summer before she got married and became pregnant with her second son right before she was diagnosed with Thyroid Cancer. She completed the program she was in at the time with a 4.0 GPA and went on to complete her BS during treatments. “I just kept doing what I knew I was meant to do because an obstacle is only what you make of it.”
Currently Anna is a full-time PhD student majoring in Education with a specialization in Learning, Instruction, and Innovation and she works part-time for Girls Scouts of Ohio’s Heartland as a Program Specialist. Within the past year, Anna started a GLSEN chapter in Columbus. GLSEN was founded in 1990 by a dedicated group of teachers in Massachusetts who came together to improve an education system that too frequently allows its LGBTQ students to be bullied, discriminated against, or fall through the cracks. “Right now, GLSEN Columbus is a newly accredited organization and, as such, has not become a household name in Central Ohio. She, along with fellow Board members, aims to change that through community education, professional development opportunities, providing resources for awareness events, and helping out local schools in any way they can to increase the elements of personal safety within the schools.
Anna is also working on writing a series of children’s books which will be self-published on Amazon once the illustrations are complete. The books will serve to cover many topics so children can learn not just tolerance, but also the rationale and need for celebration of our differences.
Anna ultimately aspires to be a Professor who works via Distance Learning so she can have plenty of time to travel and volunteer without the burden of a typical business-hours day. “I hope that, in the end, I am remembered as an actively kind person. There are two types of kindness – passive and active. Those who are passively kind avoid being rude but do nothing to really promote kindness. I wish to be remembered as someone who actively pursued helping others through extending the hand of kindness in thought and deed.”
For more information on Anna’s causes, please visit www.GLSEN.org and www.PtankaRogersGSOH.org.