But as you abound in everything, in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all diligence,
and in your love for us, see that you abound in this grace also.
2 Corinthians 8:7 (NKJV)
Welcome
Thank you for visiting my E Portfolio,
I built this website to show all of my academic goals and accomplishments, as well as tell a little about myself and who I am. I hope you enjoy the things I have included, as it displays my hard work, personality and dreams that will one day become my reality.
About Me
My name is Vonda and I am currently a full-time midwifery student at Midwives College of Utah, where I am pursuing my Bachelors of Science degree in Midwifery to become a CPM. Since attending my first birth in 1983, I have learned a great deal through education, hands-on experiences and through my own home births. I have gained a deep appreciation for what women experience during pregnancy, labor, birth and postpartum, and for those that care for them before, during and after this time. I am originally from Salt Lake City, Utah, where I spent the first half of my life and where my passion for midwifery began. I birthed all 4 of my children at home with a very wise midwife. I was in awe of the work this amazing woman did, not only for myself but for many that called her their midwife and friend, and for families that never even knew her, but were helped by her. She was very knowledgeable as a midwife, in herbs, homeopathic and had a business to feed and help low-income families in numerous ways. She was a very gifted mentor, whose insights were often sought out by so many other midwives. I began sitting at the foot of this "Wonder Woman" who came to our home once a month to not only care for me and my unborn children but little did I know then, to teach and mentor me. Although we talked and visited so many times throughout the years both in person and over the phone, from approximately 2003-2009, now many years after my first child was born, I now lived out of the state and many miles from her. We once again began to regularly spend many late nights and into the morning hours on the phone, discussing birth and midwifery. I didn’t know then what she was really up to until one night, I proposed the question; why she was teaching me all these things? and she stated; “I saw something in you early on, that I knew would one day say “midwife” and I was called to nurture it”. My own journey began back in 1983 as a friend supporting a friend, way before I ever knew there was a name for what I was doing, and I've continued being a doula throughout my life, assisting many clients, friends, family members and midwives, bringing precious babies into this world. Later in 2010 I obtained my doula certification and named my business "Meager Beginnings Doula Services" because my journey has had many obstacles and has therefore been a little bit at a time. In 1996, we made a major move from Utah and settled in Fruita, Colorado and later moved to the beautiful mountains of Montrose, Colorado. Even though God kept bringing this desire of being a midwife back to mind and placing it heavy on my heart at times. I felt that midwifery had to wait a bit longer until I had finished raising my own children. There were many other things and people, that led me to where I am today and many confirmations were given along the way. So, when the day came that my youngest graduated from high school, we both applied for college and that was when I found MCU. My background has laid the foundation for what I will one day become, A Midwife. From the end of 2009-2012, over 25 years had passed since that first birth I attended and I was now in midwifery school at MCU. My midwife often requested that I travel to see her, which I did every chance I could get, for me it was another chance to learn from her. Again, I found myself excited and eager by the things she taught me, the places she took me, the people she had me meet, and by those she had me sit under to learn things that she herself could not herself teach me. I will never forget how her words radiated through me each time she spoke, there was such incredible power and beauty in her person, as I had never before witnessed in anyone else. I couldn’t get enough, the more time we spent together my desires to be a midwife grew and I craved learning from her and knowing everything and anything that she could teach or show me, I was hooked! I have learned many traits, skills, and lessons over these years, from several different midwives, both in Utah and more recently here in Colorado. I am eager to continue on this journey to becoming a midwife of excellence. I know one never stops learning, and I am excited to see where my God in this journey will lead me, what new people I will cross paths with, and what lessons and skills I will be taught from other experienced midwives and mentors. |
Photo by: Shelby Kunz
@Cakes and Cameras |