Elyza Willms was born in 1982. “I was born in Grand junction,” she told me, “born and raised.” as she grew up, she went to Shelledy Elementary School, then Fruita Middle School, the finally ended up in Fruita Monument High School. She woke up everyday and dreamed of being a Personal trainer, or, as she put it, a Trainer.
“I was into physical fitness, and that really helped to fuel my dream. I didn’t want to be a teacher at first.” She doesn’t remember her early days in elementary and middle school. “It was just so long ago. I wish I could remember but it was just too long ago. My brain doesn’t want to remember. It was probably too boring.”
She really liked sports back then, she even believes that’s why she wanted to be a personal trainer. whenever she came home from school, she would tend to her horses, dogs, and cats with her dad. Her father would also usually help her and her family.
“He was a huge mentor to me. I can’t imagine me having any other dad.” Another great mentor that she had would have been Mr. Fox. She had him for anatomy, and he would be able to relate and help her like no other teacher would.
After she went to college, she set her dreams to, instead of a personal trainer, become a teacher. However, after two years, she became burnt-out in a classroom. after talking to one of her supervisors, they granted her permission to begin training in the library. “In the library,” she says, “you can interact with the kids on a different level. I’ve been a librarian for fourteen years and I’ve never gotten sick of it. I plan to work here until I retire.”
