It is a phrase we all know but it is something that Colleen Lee holds dear to her heart.
“You can't call it to work if it is doing something that you love.”
For Lee, both her jobs are what she was meant to do with her life. During the day, she is the Director of Operations at EDF Energy providing many companies around the country with power generation services. While it may not sound like the most glamorous thing, Lee disagrees. There is no aspect of her job that she doesn't like. She loves her co-workers and she knows she never wants to give any of that up.
“I always have a happy face on every single day there,” Lee said. “I never see problems; I see opportunity and that makes this job worthwhile.”
When Lee heads home from her day job, the work doesn't end there. Once she gets home, she gets work on her other passion: helping kids. Lee and her husband are the founders of True North Training Stables, which is a program meant to help kids by providing a safe environment to gain life skills in an equine setting.
The idea came after talking with her husband about all the unused land that they have at their home. After talking with one of her friends at church, she knew that she wanted to turn it into something that can be helpful for kids. She just had to get her husband on board.
“I went to him and told him my idea. He looked at me and said that it was a perfect idea,” Lee said.
Lee’s goal with her training program is to help kids learn essential skills to help them improve in their life. They do it uniquely, using horses to help teach the kids these skills.
“Learning with these animals helps teach them to care for others,” Lee said. “Kids can relate a lot more to animals and horses that are a great mirror for all of these emotions, it is a great method.”
Since starting over seven years ago, over 500 kids have come and gone through their program. Lee wants every kid that comes through to be able to see themselves just as God does: wonderful. Even with such an accomplishment, Lee knows that her work is far from over.
“I feel like there has been something inside me that wants to help people all of my life,” Lee said. “At the end of the day, it is not about me, it is about others.”
Thankfully for Lee, horses were something that also came naturally, as she grew up riding them. To this day she still works with horses, lending them to members of the community to help out with horse races and shows.
Lee has always considered herself a very outgoing person. She and her parents will tell everyone that she was meant to be a helper all her life.
“I want to connect the community wherever I go. I am not going to give up that dream,” Lee said.