Joyce Webb told me the other day how she used to read More magazine, and loved a column about women who were making a change in their career. The column talked about how to stay relevant in the business world with reinvention.
Or, perhaps they wanted to return to work after taking time off to raise kids or find a job that is more meaningful.
Then we started talking about Joyce’s own career and her own reinvention upon retiring as a vice president after a 30-year career at Aon Corp. We thought, why not start a section about reinvention here on She’s The Day? Joyce volunteered to be the first subject.
A Fabulous Career But Not a Passion
Joyce said her career at Aon was a gift that keeps on giving. She enjoyed the competitive, male-dominated reinsurance industry, despite the stress that one faces to juggle family, career and advancement within any corporate environment.
“It’s a relationship driven business and I was very good at connecting the dots and people and driving effective solutions for my clients,” she said.
Even though “insurance” wasn’t her passion per se, she said, “I would highly encourage young women to enter the insurance industry today. There is so much opportunity and doors are wide open.”
It brought into laser focus how short life really is and it made me start to question how I could help others even more.
Joyce Webb
Joyce said, while not her life’s passion, “The corporate insurance world was a career I just sort of fell into after college, and doors were opening up for women then. I had some wonderful mentors who encouraged me and I succeeded in that industry. I also enjoyed activities such as starting and fostering several women’s networking groups. But I also worried about waking up one day and wondering if I would be sorry that I didn’t spend more time in my life using my talents to make a real difference in people’s lives.”
Joyce also spends a lot of time making a difference outside of her work life through activities like volunteering, serving on non-profit boards and committees, as well as fund raising for charitable causes.
Catalyst for Change
Then three things happened: 1) September 11, 2001; 2) a surgery that required rehab–and a then, even more personally devastating–; 3) a stroke suffered by a sister to whom Joyce was very close.
September 11, 2001
Joyce’s husband, Walter, was a New York City firefighter who had moved to Chicago to be with Joyce just a few months prior to the attack on the World Trade Center in New York on September 11, 2001. Not only did AON lose 176 employees during the attack, but Walter personally knew over two dozen firefighters who also perished.
Both their lives were deeply affected by events of that day. “When 911 happened, I really started to question what I was doing with my life,” said Joyce. “It brought into laser focus how short life really is and it made me start to question how I could help others even more.”
Surgery + Rehab
Then Joyce required a surgery that led to rehab with physical therapy. Joyce said she has always been a fitness buff, and at one time had considered physical therapy as a career while in college, but after watching the physical therapists work with her and questioning them about their job, she became even more interested. “I noticed how effective and helpful the PT was. I thought, ‘this is a job I could do that would really make a difference.’
“At the time, however, it would have required seven years of schooling and the Physical Therapy Assistant (PTA) role had not yet evolved to what it is today. That would happen later. Also, I was still advancing at AON, a company I loved, with clients I loved too and felt I was helping,” she said.
During her own physical therapy rehabilitation, Joyce experienced Gyrotonics® and fell in love with the discipline. She went so far as to obtain a master certification from the leader of the movement in Germany.
She considered becoming an entrepreneur by opening a sports coaching practice for athletes that needed help with the rotational movements that Gyrotonics specializes in, such as golf and equestrian sports.
However, as so often happens in life, another event required her attention: an unexpected, but much welcomed, pregnancy occurred and motherhood beckoned.
A Loved One’s Crisis
Then in October 2016 something else happened. Joyce’s sister, Carroll Keigher, suffered a massive stroke with debilitating consequences.
Joyce explained their close-knit relationship: “I am the tenth of eleven children in my family. My sister, Carroll, was having children of her own by the time I was born, and lived nearby, so I spent a good deal of my childhood in her home, growing up with my nieces and nephews.
She was like a second mother to me. Then as I grew up, our relationship truly became one of two very close sisters. Her impact on my life is immeasurable.”
Keigher’s condition was grave. She had lost all mobility, but not cognition, due to the region of her brain where the stroke occurred. Once Keigher was stabilized, she was moved to Shirley Ryan Ability Labs (SRAL) (formerly known as the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago) for further care.
Improving with the Help of Physical Therapy
Joyce said the care Keigher received there blew her away and, “Opened my eyes to the advances made within the world of physical therapy.”
Because Joyce’s job in downtown Chicago was close to SRAL, she was able to spend a great amount of time with her sister and her sister’s therapists as Keigher worked to improve.
Joyce said the loving, compassionate care her sister received was inspiring. “I was truly awed and amazed by her recovery with the help of physical therapy. Every day she got better and better.
The physical therapy truly was a game changer and I learned from those therapists and cheered Carroll’s improvement. I helped her and Carroll encouraged me. She urged me to consider looking into PT as a follow up career because of how much it had helped her.”
Reinvention in the Family DNA
Keigher also had experienced reinvention, in fact more than once, said Joyce. As a young mother of four, she went back to school to earn a nursing degree and enjoyed a nursing career in her 30s and 40s. Then she reinvented a second time as a real estate agent in her 50s and 60s.
While that real estate career served her well, it was not to continue. Sadly, as she was healing, Keigher suffered a second stroke, which led to complications and ultimately an infection from which she couldn’t recover. She passed away at a very young age 71, said Joyce.
Inspired to Move Forward
“It was a surprise. It happened very quickly. At that point, despite all the amazing gains she had achieved, she had also been through sooo much, and her body just couldn’t overcome the complications. She was extremely supportive and encouraging and thought I would be wonderful in the physical therapy profession, so I felt like I owed it to her to give it a try,” said Joyce.
Making a Bold Change
Joyce said by this time in her life, Physical Therapy Assistant was a respected and accredited profession. “There were so many factors that made it possible for me to make this switch. First, I had always been a good saver and was financially able to afford to go back to school. My son is older now, and was more independent. I found a program at College of DuPage (COD), the community college in my town, that was among the best in the nation at delivering Physical Therapy Assistant education, so it was now something that was much more attainable than when I was in college.”
Joyce did her research: She spoke with the guidance counselors at the school, she interviewed and questioned PTs and PTAs she knew and researched other second career options.
She worried that she might not qualify for the exclusive program at COD where only 24 students were admitted to each class. But COD’s counselors assured her everyone was given a fair shot in their selection and in fact suggested her real life experiences would be a plus, encouraging her to try.
So, after completing a few prerequisite courses and scoring well, she applied and was accepted into COD’s program starting in the fall of 2017.
Powering Through
Joyce said, “Initially, I set small goals and took it one step at a time. For two and a half years, I was careful to preserve my role at Aon in a highly competitive and challenging job, while navigating the prerequisite education, application process and two and a half years of the program. There were lots of late nights, plenty of prayers and a blind faith knowing that what the Lord was nudging me to do, He would also provide the wherewithal for me to do.”
With the support of her husband, encouragement of her preteen son and lots of positive “nods” from friends and family, she “muscled” through the three-year program, she said.
Loving School
Joyce gets very excited when talking about her education at COD. “School now is so different than it used to be. There is so much diverse technology. There’s online learning and classmate collaboration. There are these super cool anatomy apps. I cannot imagine studying physical therapy without this technology. Before, you had to dissect a body and now they have online animations to help you learn at your own pace and you learn so much. And your fellow students are much more supportive now than back when I went to college when we were all competing against each other. I really look forward to school. It’s such a joy and I’m proud to say I achieved all As!”
Then Covid-19 Struck
With only one more clinical and a few hours in her practical training left to complete, Joyce’s second education is nearly complete. As soon as pandemic restrictions open, she’ll be able to take the licensure exam and begin interviewing for a position. She actually participated in an unofficial “Safe, social distance” graduation ceremony with her class in late May, 2020.
What’s Next
“PTA is a great career. The hours can be flexible. You work very hands-on with patients. You can work in a variety of clinical settings, such as rehab, outpatient, skilled nursing, TBI and spinal cord injury or acute care, or even schools. There are many options. I will actually be able to earn a decent salary, although that’s not why I’m doing it. I really want to give back, help people in a real personal way and honor the legacy of my sister Carroll.”
She said the thought of interviewing gives her a bit of pause, but she knows her beloved sister Carroll is with her and giving her that extra sense of confidence. She is excited to reinvent herself in a second career as a Physical Therapy Assistant, where she will help people, enjoy a fulfilling and flexible career, and continue to be mom, wife, sister, aunt and the best version of herself that she can be.
Did you reinvent yourself? Share your story in the comments below. You’re among friends here and maybe we’ll contact you and write about you in She’s The Day’s reinvention section!
