Gloria Sanchez-Reyes knows Happy Hill Farm from the inside out. “For all intents and purposes I was born and raised on the Farm,” she explains.
Gloria’s father began working for the Shipmans during the early days of Happy Hill Farm. Their whole family lived there, and Gloria and all of her siblings attended NCTA. Quite simply, it was home.
Gloria vividly remembers how the Shipman family made sure they had everything they needed, including presents at Christmas. “Mr. and Mrs. Shipman were very much like my grandparents,” she explains. “They would say, ‘I’m so proud of you. I love you.’ But they didn’t just say it. They truly meant it and they showed it.”
As she moved up from kindergarten through her high school years, Gloria was actively involved in both 4-H and sports. “Ann Strong was a coach there and also a Spanish teacher,” Gloria says. “The discipline she offered through athletics was awesome, but she also offered discipline mentally. If we didn’t have our Scriptures memorized, we would have to run back and forth on the basketball court a certain number of times. She was instilling the importance of knowing the Word and how that really guides your life.”
Gloria graduated as valedictorian of her class, then went on to college and into the business world to build a career. She also built a beautiful family … Gloria and her husband have two little girls.
“As an adult, I realize now what a unique opportunity that was,” she says. “I’m really indebted to them for making sure each of us got a really strong academic background. But first and foremost it was the Christian upbringing. My husband and I are both very involved in our church and in our marriage ministry, pouring into other people’s lives and showing them the love of Christ just like I learned through example and experience at Happy Hill Farm.”
From the beginning, friends like you have made Happy Hill Farm the inspiring place it is. Gloria continues, “There is no place like Happy Hill. None. You can search the world over and you would not find a place that inspires kids the way Happy Hill Farm does.”
Thank you for helping to give children like Gloria a successful, selfless future!