So that has been my lifelong work in addition to also serving as a major gift officer with a portfolio of, of our major donors.

Hey, guys.

My name is Terri Williams.

I am from St. Louis, Missouri, a member of the St. Louis AFP chapter.

Currently, I work for Christian Hospital.

And fundraising, like everybody says, it sort of kind of chooses you, right? Um, I graduated from graduate school thinking that I was going to teach, and upon graduation, my advisor, she approached me with a job in development and said, "Hey, I think this may really work for you, the communication skills that you have, the fellowship opportunities that you've done here at Wash U.

Um, this may really work out well for you, and I can see you growing in this field." And I started in development, have been blessed with amazing mentors and leaders that have poured into me every step along the way, and I really just count it as a, a blessing to be able to do this work, to be able to pour back into my community, and also to be able to pour back into future fundraisers as well.