Sharon A. Fritz

Born to deaf parents, I grew up in Chicago during the 60s and 70s in a family of six girls and one boy. Having deaf parents helped me learn patience and to look people in the eye when I am talking to them; this is often mistaken for aggression.

As a child I was a bit of a loner and learned to enjoy my own company. I read a lot; staying up under the covers with a flashlight reading Nancy Drew Mysteries and Trixie Belden. I was a member of the Alfred Hitchcock Junior Detective Club.

My siblings and I were members of the Kiwanis Chicago Boys Club and I had a lot of good experiences going on camping trips and summer day camp. It really helped my mom during the summer when she had to work; she didn't have to worry about us running the streets. When I was nine a counselor at the Boy's Club gave the girls a cooking lesson. We made pizza from "scratch". It was fun and it smelled so good; I tasted homemade pizza for the first time; fresh out of a box of Chef Boyardee pizza kit. That is when my love for cooking was born. To this day I can't resist pizza.

I married fairly young and didn't start thinking about going to college until just after my daughter was born. I decided to wait until my second child, a boy, turned three. It was right about that time that he started showing signs of autism and I new I couldn't go back to school until after he had finished high school.

I started college after my daughter's graduation; my son's graduation was the following year. I was so ready for school that I received my bachelor's (with honors) in two years; majoring in journalism. I had several years previously taken a year of school and received a Paralegal Certificate. I also have a Food Safety and Sanitation license and am working towards a baking certificate. I guess I like school.

Now that I am in between careers I am filling my time with volunteer work, helping with my grandchildren, living with and taking care of my mother (I hope to write a book someday based on her