Quick Bio:
Kaye McGarry was born in New York City, the 3rd of 8 children. After completing her B.A. in Business Administration from the University of South Florida in Tampa, FL she married her husband, Dennis, and moved to Charlotte, NC. She earned her M.Ed. in Guidance and Counseling at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
Within her decades of community service and professional endeavors, Kaye spent several years speaking to groups of students and parents on the transition from high school to college, based on her book, A New Beginning: A Survival Guide for Parents of College Freshmen (2008, 3rd edition). Today, at 70 years young, she is a doctoral student at Northeastern University and serves as a member of the Public School Policy Forum of North Carolina.
She and her husband have four grown children, five granddaughters, four grand dogs and one grand cat.
More information about Kaye can be found at her website www.KayeMcGarry.com.
1. What type of writing do you do? What challenges you the most and what comes naturally?
Charlotte Writers' Club has been important to me because writing is what I do and what I enjoy doing. In 2012, I took Margaret Bigger's writing class and learned so much. At the time, I was exploring my options of how to utilize my time nd talent after serving 8 years as an elected official on the CMS Board of Education. Through her class, I realized how much writing was a part of me; thus, in 2013, I undertook a doctoral journey at Northeastern University.
I am studying and acquiring knowledge to become a scholar-practitioner. I am learning how to write "scholarly," something new to me; now my writing is based on research, not my opinion, and heaven forbid, not common sense. It is a different way of writing for me, but in the educational realm has been quite a wonderful experience to link my school board experience and community involvement with educational issues tot he research that has been done over many years.
2. How do you cultivate inspiration for your work?
Before I self-published my book, A New Beginning: A Survival Guide for Parents of College Freshmen, 1998, I garnered the courage to send my manuscript to my high school English teacher, Dorothy Miles (former teacher at Marblehead High School and an author and historian). I quote Dorothy's encouragement and advice to me, which was the motivation to complete this work. "Every author has doubts from time to time regarding their script - it's value, it's message, etc., so don't ever let that stop you from writing. Have confidence in your topic which is very relevant, very much needed by parents and students today. Your advice is sound, texted, and sorely needed. The second edition of this book was published in 2001 and the third edition in 2008.
3. What do you enjoy most about the Charlotte Writers' Club?
The Charlotte Writers' Club has a distinguished list of members; all share a common interest in writing in a variety of venues which makes it eclectic and always interesting.
4. What writing advice would you pass on to other writers?
Never give up!
"Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
5. In a sentence or two, what else would you like people to know about you?
I am self-motivated; I am driven by a need to make a difference in the lives of children and families. I want to keep my brain active as I am a life-long learner. My hobbies include reading, writing, running, and needlework, and traveling with my husband and family.