NEWARK – She’s investing in their lives.
“I was an only child until I was 12,” Stephanie Hartman said. “Then my parents had my brother, who I immediately fell in love with. I’m also the first and oldest granddaughter on both sides of my family. So every time a new baby was born, I was always the first in line to hold them. I knew at a young age I couldn’t wait to be a mom and that one day maybe I would have a job working with children.”
Today, Hartman is the Glory Rising director and the volunteer coordinator at the Look Up Center – an organization whose mission is to “serve the community with Christ-centered love, education and encouragement.”
“I finally have my ‘dream job,’” Hartman said. “Thanks to the Look Up Center I’ve been able to create a safe, fun, joyful and nurturing space for families in our community to bring their preschool aged children.”
The name for the ministry, Glory Rising, by the way, means “raising up children to bring glory to the Lord.” Hartman started Glory Rising in 2022.
“God has poured His love into my heart,” she said. “He has shown me such mercy and grace throughout my life, so naturally I want that to overflow to others.”
Hartman grew up in Heath and graduated from Heath High School in 1994. She worked for an insurance company for years, then she met Lori Hubble. At the time, Hubble was executive director of the Look Up Center.
“In 2019 Lori came to our church to share the details of what the center did and ways to get involved,” Hartman said. “When she was done speaking, I said to myself, ‘I want to be her friend and go work with her.’ I reached out to a friend who was employed there and said, ‘If you ever have a job opening, please let me know.’ It wasn’t long after that I received a phone call to meet Lori for coffee. When we met it felt like I had known her for years.
“She told me about volunteer opportunities and about a potential job opening,” Hartman said. “I started volunteering on my days off and immediately fell in love with the people and the mission of the Look Up Center. In December of 2019 I came to Look Up as a volunteer. I was then hired in February 2020 as their outreach coordinator. I helped with various events, handled their social media pages, quickly got involved with the after-school program, and helped with administrative duties.”
Hubble is now retired from the center but well remembers those days.
“Stephanie has a calling on her life to share the love of Jesus with children,” Hubble said. “She’s more than a teacher and this program she developed is more than a career. It’s her heart. She truly loves every child that steps inside Glory Rising. I can attest to this as my own grandchildren have been a part of this program since its inception and they can’t wait to see Miss Stephanie every week. This isn’t just a preschool, it’s her passion.”
Hartman responded: “I’m thankful I get to spend my days investing in the lives of tiny little humans. My hope is when they’re in my classroom, they feel seen, loved, and cherished.”
Aces of Trades is a weekly series focusing on people and their jobs – whether they’re unusual jobs, fun jobs or people who take ordinary jobs and make them extraordinary. If you have a suggestion for a future profile, let us know at advocate@newarkadvocate.com.
This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: ‘Dream job’ leads Stephanie Hartman to help local kids | Aces of Trades
Reporting by Drew Bracken, Special to Newark Advocate / Newark Advocate
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Drew Bracken, Special to Newark Advocate | USA TODAY Network
