Rena Herbert: Mrs. Eastern Nebraska 2005

Her Magazine
By Maureen O’Halloran Clark
June 2006

At the Mrs. Nebraska America Pageant last summer, Rena Herbert was the Patty Steele Woman of Achievement Award winner. Herbert, Mrs. Eastern Nebraska 2005, was selected for this award because of what she has accomplished in her life, despite the difficulties she has faced.

Terri Krokikowski, the Executive Director of the Mrs. Nebraska America Pageant said of Herbert, “she is a survivor.” She said that she has overcome difficulties and is helping others to also achieve. One of the things she noted was that Herbert has started the Young Women of Achievement Scholarship to help other young women.

Besides starting the scholarship though, Herbert has been sharing her story with young women for over ten years, challenging them to set goals. She says she hopes that they will learn from her achievements and from her mistakes.

At 15 years of age, Rena became pregnant. She was in 9th grade and had been an "A" student. She was “scared and confused.” To add to her concerns, seven months into the pregnancy, an ultrasound revealed that her daughter had hydrocephalus. This is a condition in which excessive fluid in the brain can cause an enlargement of the head and damage to the brain. She recounts, “I was told that if my child lived through birth, she would be severely mentally retarded.”

When her daughter was born, Rena decided “instantly” that she would keep her. Her daughter needed a total of ten surgeries. Now 14 years later, Herbert reports that she walks, talks, reads and writes. She adds, “She is a blessing.”

In those early years, Rena paid for day care so that she could finish high school, working a variety of jobs to pay for that day care. Her mother cared for her daughter in the evening while she worked. Though she was no longer an "A" student, she eventually graduated.

At about the time Rena’s daughter was born, Rena’s mother took custody of her cousin. Both her daughter and her cousin were the same age and grew up as sisters. When Rena was 19, she bought a house with her mother and continued working.

When her daughter started first grade, she decided that she would go to college full-time. Before she got very far with that however, the Union Pacific offered her a position as a train dispatcher which provided an excellent salary and health benefits for herself and her daughter. She couldn’t pass it up.

Then when Rena was 25, she moved out. She and her mother decided that both Rena’s daughter and cousin would live with her. Rena adopted her cousin and so now has two 14-year-old daughters.

She continued working full-time and began taking courses at Metro Community College. In 2002, she married Thomas Herbert. In 2003, she left Union Pacific to go full-time to school.

A year later, she received her associate degree from Metropolitan Community College. She also became a licensed real estate agent and began working for Century 21 Real Estate. She went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in Information Systems from Bellevue University. Just recently, she earned a master’s degree in Business Management from Bellevue University. She continues to work as a real estate agent and is studying for her M.B.A. In addition, Rena’s nephew (and godson) from Virginia, is staying with the family while he attends college here in Omaha.

While Rena had been at Bellevue East High School, she had been part of a teen mothers’ support group. After graduating, she began going back to the group to encourage other young moms. She tells them her story and challenges them to set concrete, long-term and short-term goals for their own sake and for the sake of their children. She also emphasizes the importance of education.

She says she has also challenged them to “respect themselves” in their relationships. She asks the young ladies to think about something very valuable that they would like to buy, maybe jewelry or a car. Then she asks them to think about if they had worked very long and hard to buy it. Finally she asks, “Would you let your boyfriend borrow it?” She said the response is usually “no way.” She then encourages them, “Well, your body, your future is so much more precious. It is priceless.”

Janet Hansen, a counselor at Bellevue East, says Rena calls once or twice each year and offers to talk to the teen mothers’ group. They are always thrilled to have her come because she is “honest and uplifting.” She encourages them that if she could make it they can too. Hansen said Rena is a special person, to not only achieve what she has, but then to also think about others and encourage them to achieve. She even welcomes phone calls from the teens.

Herbert was also a guest teacher for a class at Papillion-La Vista and talked about résumé writing and interviewing. Both she and her husband have been “mock interviewers” for Papillion-La Vista South High School to help students practice interviewing.

Rena has talked to the College Bound Club for Papillion-La Vista High School. Again, she talked about setting goals and overcoming difficulties. Her husband joined her in stressing those same points to the College Bound Club for Papillion-La Vista South High School.

Ann Wik, site coordinator for the Papillion-La Vista South College Bound Club, explained that the club is Papillion-La Vista’s Upward Bound program. Upward Bound was created by the Department of Education to assist first generation students and those who may qualify under federal income guidelines. The term “first generation students” refers to students who would be the first generation in their family to graduate from college. Of Herbert she says, “She is very down-to-earth” and “is definitely giving back to the community” and helping students who may not have things come easy to them.

In 2004, Rena was a speaker at the ICAN conference. She shared her story and talked about overcoming difficulties by setting goals. She shared a similar message last year with women at the Open Door Mission.

One of the things that prompted the judges to designate Rena Herbert as the Patty Steele Woman of Achievement was that she had started a scholarship. This is certainly commendable, but of much more value is the encouragement that she gives to young women and the role model that she is.

Article text © copyright 2006 Maureen O'Halloran Clark. All rights reserved.