Some of the most meaningful careers are not carefully mapped out from the beginning. They take shape through unexpected opportunities, defining decisions, and experiences that reveal where a person can make the greatest difference. For Lieda Shadwick, a career in education was never part of an original plan. Yet what began almost by accident eventually became a professional journey spanning more than 26 years and one that has shaped much of who she is today.

Her path has been anything but conventional. From music and business administration to military service in the Persian Gulf, the corporate world, classroom teaching, educational technology, Career and Technical Education leadership, and authorship, each chapter has contributed something meaningful to the next. At the center of it all has remained a commitment to helping students connect learning with the opportunities and realities beyond the classroom.

Today, as a CTE Department Chair, marketing educator, DECA advisor, and author, Shadwick continues to build on that journey while thoughtfully considering what the next chapter of her career and legacy will look like. Her story is one of adaptation, continuous learning, purposeful leadership, and the willingness to take a different path when life points in an unexpected direction.

Read on to discover Lieda Shadwick’s journey, the experiences that shaped her approach to education and leadership, and why she believes the next chapter often becomes clear only after finding the courage to take the next step.

An Unexpected Path into Education

Lieda Shadwick never actually planned to become a teacher. In many ways, teaching simply fell into her lap.

Music was a big part of her early life. While she was in high school and beyond, she gave private music lessons, accompanied the Sunday school music program, and served as a piano accompanist for solo and ensemble contests. Those experiences gave her opportunities to work with people, teach skills, and develop patience and responsibility, although at the time, she did not necessarily see them as preparation for a career in education.

Shadwick earned a Bachelor of Business Administration and a Bachelor of Music in Music Performance from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. Prior to earning her degrees, the 892nd Transportation Company/Army Reserve Unit she served with was activated. The unit was sent to the Persian Gulf during Operation Desert Shield/Operation Desert Storm.

After college, she initially went into the corporate world. It was during that time that she began substitute teaching, and she unexpectedly discovered that she really enjoyed being in the classroom.

One experience in particular made her reconsider the direction she was taking. She was working a corporate job that expected her to leave her newborn without a babysitter after being given only ten minutes’ notice that mandatory overtime was required. That experience caused her to seriously rethink what she wanted from her career and what kind of life she wanted for her family.

Substitute teaching had already shown her that she enjoyed working with students, so she decided to pursue education certification. She eventually earned a Master of Arts in Teaching with an emphasis in Educational Technology from Webster University and began her professional teaching career in 1999.

Looking back, Shadwick does not believe she chose education because she had always dreamed of becoming a teacher. She chose it because she discovered that she enjoyed helping students learn, and she found a career that allowed her to use many of the skills she had developed through music, business, and life experiences.

More than 26 years later, what started almost by accident became a career that has shaped much of who she is.

Making Learning Meaningful and Practical

Shadwick currently serves as CTE (Career and Technical Education) Department Chair and a marketing educator at Riverview Gardens Sr. High School in the St. Louis metropolitan area. She teaches marketing, serves as an advisor for DECA, an international organization preparing emerging leaders in marketing, finance, and entrepreneurship, and directs work-based learning opportunities for students.

Becoming CTE Department Chair has given her a broader strategic perspective on education. She is still very much connected to her classroom and her students, but she now also works with colleagues and community partners to strengthen career pathways across the entire department.

What matters most to Shadwick is making learning meaningful and practical. She wants students to see a direct connection between what happens in the classroom and what they will encounter in the workplace, in entrepreneurship, in higher education, or in life. Marketing, student organizations, real-world projects, presentations, and work-based learning give students opportunities to practice critical human skills that cannot be learned from a textbook alone.

For Shadwick, education has always been about making those real-world connections.

Success Beyond Recognition

Publishing her first book, Shaping Futures: A Life in Education, Leadership, and Legacy, is an achievement Shadwick is especially proud of. After more than two decades in education, she felt it was time to step back and reflect on the experiences, challenges, relationships, and lessons that had shaped her journey.

Along that journey, she has been deeply honored to receive major national and global industry recognitions. She was named Top Career and Technical Educator of the Year and of the Decade by the International Association of Top Professionals (IAOTP), received its Lifetime Achievement Award, and was included among its Top 50 Fearless Leaders and Top 25 Global Impact Leaders, distinctions that included features on the IAOTP Times Square and Nashville billboards.

Additionally, her career longevity and educational impact were recognized through the Marquis Who's Who Lifetime Achievement Award and a featured broadcast interview on Loving Living Local.

Seeing her work in education celebrated on a stage as visible as Times Square was humbling, particularly because Career and Technical Education does not always receive that level of public spotlight.

Yet, when Shadwick measures true success, she does not think about billboard features or awards. She thinks about the students.

She is proud when she sees former students pursuing careers, launching businesses, stepping into leadership roles, returning to mentor DECA chapters, or simply reaching a point where they believe in their own potential. Those moments remind her why she chose education in the first place.

Publishing her book allowed her to translate those experiences, national recognitions, and leadership lessons into words so they could encourage and inspire the next generation of leaders on a global scale.

Shaping the Next Chapter with Purpose

Shadwick is still intentionally shaping her vision for the future.

After more than 26 years in education, she is at a point where she is thinking carefully about what she wants the next chapter of her career and legacy to look like. Having recently stepped into the CTE Department Chair role, her primary focus is giving that responsibility the attention it deserves while continuing to serve her students at the highest level.

She is also continuing to write. Shadwick is currently working on her next book, which focuses on student leadership, mentorship, Career and Technical Student Organizations (CTSOs), and the pivotal experiences that prepare young people to bridge the gap between school and the modern global workforce.

For a long time, she has also envisioned creating a nonprofit organization to support students and schools facing systemic resource challenges. Given the economic pressures many school districts experience, she is taking time to strategically plan what that initiative should look like so it delivers lasting, sustainable impact.

Right now, her goal is less about having every single detail figured out and more about ensuring that every step she takes has purpose and impact.

Learning and Adapting with the Changing World

Shadwick tries not to view maintaining a competitive edge as competing with other educators or leaders. For her, maintaining an edge is about remaining committed to continuous learning and adaptability.

Education, technology, marketing, and the global workplace are evolving rapidly. She recognizes that if she stops learning, she stops being as effective as she can be for her students and colleagues. She stays engaged through professional development, industry connections, emerging educational technology, and by keeping a close eye on workforce trends beyond the classroom walls.

She also learns constantly from her students. Their interests, questions, digital fluency, and unique perspectives challenge her to look at problems through fresh lenses.

After more than 26 years in education, Shadwick has learned that while experience is invaluable, experience alone is not enough. She believes people have to be willing to grow alongside the changing world.

Giving Yourself Permission to Pivot

Shadwick advises aspiring professionals and entrepreneurs not to be afraid to take a different path than the one they originally imagined.

Her own career has been anything but a straight line. Business administration, music performance, military service in the Persian Gulf, education, technology, department leadership, and now authoring books have all become integral parts of her story. At different points in her life, she could not have explained how all those pieces would fit together. Looking back, she can clearly see that each chapter taught her something essential for the next.

She encourages aspiring professionals and entrepreneurs to stay curious, actively build relationships, and seek out experienced mentors. She advises them not to fear constructive feedback and never to let a temporary setback convince them that they have failed.

Most importantly, Shadwick encourages others to give themselves permission to pivot. People often feel they need the entire 10-year plan mapped out before taking action. They do not.

Her advice is to keep learning, keep growing, and align decisions with core values. Frequently, the next chapter only becomes clear after having the courage to take the next step.

Conclusion

Lieda Shadwick’s journey is a reminder that a meaningful career does not always begin with a carefully defined destination. What started as an unexpected discovery in the classroom grew into more than 26 years in education, shaped by experiences across music, business, military service, technology, leadership, and now authorship. Each chapter has brought its own lessons, ultimately contributing to the educator and leader she has become.

While national and global recognitions have marked important moments along the way, Shadwick continues to measure success through something more personal: the students who pursue careers, launch businesses, step into leadership roles, return to mentor others, or simply begin to believe in their own potential. For her, these outcomes remain at the heart of why education matters.

As she continues in her role as CTE Department Chair, works on her next book, and thoughtfully considers her long-term vision of supporting students and schools facing systemic resource challenges, Shadwick is not rushing to define every detail of what comes next. Instead, she is focused on ensuring that each step carries purpose and creates meaningful impact.

Perhaps that perspective best reflects the journey itself. Careers can change direction, plans can evolve, and unexpected experiences can become defining ones. Shadwick’s own path demonstrates the value of continuing to learn, remaining open to change, and having the courage to take the next step, even when the entire road ahead is not yet visible.

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