Jasper native Gari Leigh Minor received her Masters in Early Childhood Education. A bulk of her time was spent teaching at Cordova Elementary School, where she worked for 23 ½ of her more than 25 years in education.“I loved getting to watch [the kids] grow, the 'aha' moments; when they’re working on something and all of a sudden, they just get it.”While there was an overlap between her teaching career and her real estate career, she knew she wanted a change after her recent retirement.“To stop doing something for 25 years then going to something completely different was such a leap of faith for me,” she said. “God put too many quirky things in my path to let me know that this was the right time.“I love working with people of all ages. Teaching school was wonderful and you get to do a lot of fun things, but you are always at one place. Now, I get to go to different places and meet different people. I made a lot of friends and connections very quickly. I also get to see a lot of houses and get ideas. I love showing a house and thinking of all the ways to fix or change something. So not only do I get to help people find their home, I get to help them make it their own.” 78Gari Leigh is an agent with All Four Real Estate in Jasper.Article + Photography: Ashley Wilkes