The Southsider Voice
Visit us at these places!
  • Home
  • News
    • Top Stories
    • Sports
    • Car Nutz
    • Stilley Goes Trackside
    • Southside Deaths
    • Personal Recollections
    • Reminiscing
  • About the Voice
  • Advertising
  • Contact
  • Newspaper Archive
  • Classifieds

Greenwood's Chicken Soup for the Soul

6/3/2015

0 Comments

 

Cindy Ely’s essay published in the newest edition of
“Chicken Soup for the Soul: Time to Thrive”

PictureSOUTHSIDER VOICE PHOTO BY KELLY SAWYERS Cindy Ely holds the newest edition of “Chicken Soup for the Soul: Time To Thrive,” which features her essay.
By Katie Shane
For St. Mary-of-the-Woods College

At 63 years old, Cindy Ely never thought she would have a publicist.
But then again, she never thought she would be a published author either.
After nearly three decades of working in education, it’s hard for Ely to believe that this month marks the release of her first official work as a professional writer. The Greenwood native’s essay has been published in the newest edition of “Chicken Soup for the Soul: Time to Thrive.”

Ely’s piece, called “Boost to My Confidence,” is based on achieving her lifelong goal of obtaining her college degree. The wife, mother of four and grandmother of 12 began college after graduating from high school but dropped out when she got married and started her family. She made a promise to herself and her late father that she would go back eventually. It took nearly four decades, but in 2007 she graduated from St. Mary-of-the-Woods College.

Ely said going back to school was intimidating. She searched for a program that would allow her to juggle a full-time job and family and be an easy transition for someone who hadn’t taken a traditional college course since her early 20s. Ely’s husband, Howard, suggested Woods Online offered by St. Mary. 

“After I started on the path I made goals for myself,” Ely explained. “I would work all day and come home to study. There were some things that I had to sacrifice to get my degree, but my family was all for it; they wanted it for me as bad as I wanted it for me. I was not just getting a degree; I wanted to do well when I was doing it.”

Her determination to get her degree was not always that strong. She almost didn’t enroll but found the confidence after a chance meeting with a lady at a conference.

Ely, a former Title I tutor and classroom assistant for Perry Township Schools, was at the seminar to hear guest speaker Grace Corrigan, the mother of former teacher and Challenger space shuttle astronaut Christa Corrigan McAuliffe, one of seven crew members killed in the Challenger explosion in 1986. Walking to the main ballroom, she noticed a woman (unbeknownst to her it was Corrigan) standing alone in a side room.

“The door was open. … I am an outgoing person and inquisitive, so I went in and asked if she was OK. We started talking and before I knew it we had talked for half an hour,” Ely explained. “She convinced me that I needed to go back to college. I was a huge shock to me when I saw that it was her going on stage to talk.”
Her confidence after the conference continued, until she began to have second thoughts on the rainy day of her orientation.

Before she had the chance to fully give in to her fear, the elevator doors opened, bringing Ely face-to-face with Mary Margaret Bowels, the associate director of online program before she died.

“She took one look at me and said, ‘You have a look on your face; I have to say, you are going to do this, and you are going to be fine.’ 
That was just the first of many supportive moments Ely received from the Woods faculty and staff. “(My adviser) said, ‘Why don’t you go for professional writing?’ and I said, ‘Can you do that?’ ”
Not only did Ely give writing the old college try as she says, but she graduated with honors.

She then put her new skills and confidence to good use, beginning a children’s book and writing numerous essays she submitted to Chicken Soup. 
“I always loved those books, so I thought that was something I could do,” she said of the popular book series. “I sent a few things in, but never heard back.”

Ely said she was elated when she finally heard from the publishers that one of her essays had been accepted.  
She continues to work on her children’s book and other essays for Chicken Soup. “None of this would have happened without St. Mary-of-the-Woods.”

Picture
SUBMITTED PHOTO Cindy Ely claims that she couldn’t have accomplished her dream of graduating from St. Mary-of-the Woods College without her family, which she calls her rock. Here they are pictured at Christmastime at Canyon Inn at McCormick’s Creek State Park, where her children have had a bench dedicated in Cindy and husband Howard’s name. The family has been celebrating “Christmas at the Creek” – that’s what Cindy calls – for 16 years. They spend about three days at the park, where they play games, participate in arts and crafts, hike and go sledding if there’s snow on the ground. The park, the state’s oldest and about 60 miles southwest of Indianapolis, is also a favorite place for the family to picnic and hike in the summer.
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    July 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014

    Categories

    All
    Arts & Entertainment
    Lead Story
    Sports: 500
    Sports: Basketball
    Sports: Track

    RSS Feed

 DROP OFF: The Toy Drop 6025 Madison Ave., Suite D
Indianapolis, IN  46227  |  317-781-0023
MAILING ADDRESS: P.O. Box 17187, Indianapolis, IN 46217

ads@southsidervoice.com | news@southsidervoice.com
Website by IndyTeleData, Inc.