In the summer of 2020, Kayla made the huge life decision to move from Virginia to Oklahoma, pursuing a fresh start. Her brother and sister-in law (Tyler & Jennifer Sriver) greeted her in OKC, where they resided, and graciously let Kayla stay until she secured a job and an apartment.

Kayla was still evaluating what career path she wanted to follow, but had a passion for healthcare. With a B.S in Forensic Science and practically no job experience in healthcare... she felt as though she was starting from scratch.

To help her get a foot in the door, Tyler & Jennifer asked some friends if they knew of any available jobs. Low-and-behold, one of their friends felt as though a position would be opening soon in the lab they worked in, so they offered to pass on her resume to their boss. That friend's name was Winston!

Tyler, Jennifer, and Winston knew each other through a local rock climbing gym that they were all members of. A hobby that Winston decided to try on a whim when he mentioned he wanted to be more active to his cousin. This cousin just so happened to have just started rock climbing and recommended it to him! (Special shoutout to Joycelin!)

Coincidentally, this was a hobby that Kayla was also getting into at that time. She joined the same gym once she was settled in Oklahoma.

Since it was 2020, the pandemic was in full swing. Winston had just recently decided to leave his position in microbiology (that he held for almost 6 years), to help validate molecular testing for COVID-19.

While Winston had gone to school to become a Medical Technologist, this was definitely NOT something Kayla had done. Although this caused her some uncertainty about whether she'd be qualified for the position, her path soon became clear.

Due to the high demand for COVID-19 testing, this happened to be the one job of this nature in which only a Bachelor of Science - with sufficient laboratory experience - was required. And Kayla met the criteria!

Kayla and Winston soon became coworkers. After Kayla asked Winston if he wanted to go rock climbing sometime (along with his phone number), the rest is history!

It's funny how all the decisions we make in life, no matter big or small, lead us to where we need to be.