Parents central to woman's education

Jeannette Gongloff was mortified as a teenager when her parents called her teachers to make sure that she was wearing her glasses.

But knowing her parents, she wasn't too surprised.

"They were overbearing overachievers," she said. "It was excruciating. They came to school. They volunteered. They talked to my teachers more than I did."

As a teenager, she thought her parents were way too involved in her schooling, but now, as a successful leader of her own real estate firm, she's glad they were.

"My teachers were great but they also had 30 other students in their class," she said. "Without my parents being involved, I would have failed."

Gongloff, 37, finished school in Greeley-Evans School District 6 and then went on to Pepperdine and Colorado State University. She came back to Greeley and got her real estate license and started selling. In three years, she started the Gongloff Group.

Looking back on her education, there wasn't one class or program that she remembers that especially helped her, but there were certain teachers that stick out in her mind. They were the kind of teachers who believed in her and pushed her to do better.

"They spent time with us in class and out of class," she said. "They gave us books to read. They disciplined us when we did things we weren't supposed to do."

Even with those great teachers, she knows the real secret to her success.

"As much as I rebelled against it, parental involvement was the key," she said.