To be honest, I didn’t know what to expect. I’ve only been a member of the NtoU staff for a relatively short period of time and while I’ve indeed read Monica’s articles, I hadn’t actually met her face to face. We’d only spoken briefly over the phone during the week prior to scheduling our sit down. Now, this is where it started to get interesting. We were debating where we would meet. I have to say that because Monica writes articles for NtoU related to health and fitness, I was a bit puzzled by the chosen meeting place, which would later be known as “Five Guys Burgers.” While I reluctantly agreed, I also began to think: ’Now why would a person who’s interests seem to be deeply rooted in the overall health and well-being of humans, suggest a meeting at a hamburger joint?’ I thought, ‘this surely would create much debate amongst the most decorated of fitness experts,” and wouldn’t necessarily contribute to so-called good eating habits.’ However, at the time I felt that it was quite fascinating and something to key on later in our discussions.

During our initial phone conversation, I found Monica to have quite an intriguing personality. She came across as being very direct, yet humorous. It almost felt as if we had known each other for quite some time, more specifically, like family. She has a very genuine appeal about her, and gives it to you straight, “no chaser!” This is where I began to see our similarities. Once we actually met face to face and began to converse, the tone had already been set, and everything seemed to flow quite nicely from that point.

Monica was born in the Boston, MA, however she spent most of her childhood being raised in Detroit, MI. She’s the eldest of six children with four sisters and one brother. She was not reared in the church or taught to be a God-fearing follower of Christ. She became a Christian after obeying the gospel in her late twenties; at that time she lived in Louisiana following a four-year tour of duty in the United States Air Force, where she was a Law Enforcement Officer.  She also served as a Police Officer with the Alexandria Police Department for 6 years. She moved to Jacksonville, FL in 1995 and in 1998 she started working for a non-profit health care insurance company, where she is still employed. She is also an active member of the Air Force Reserves.

She’s been an active member of the Church of Christ since 1991 and currently worships at their Sweetwater congregation located on the Westside of Jacksonville, FL.  Monica is a woman of deep faith She readily proclaims: “I live my life walking in the favour of the Lord!” Her favorite Bible scripture is Matthew 6:33and her favorite story is that of Naomi and Ruth.  She takes wisdom from the trials and tribulations of Paul, specifically when he had the thorn in his flesh and proclaims that her strength is “being weak in the Lord. While Monica has honed her knowledge in scripture, she’s also an accomplished scholar. She has an Associate’s Degree in General Studies from Florida Community College of Jacksonville (FCCJ). She’s also very close to the completion of a Bachelors of Science in Psychology from the University of North Florida.

Physical fitness is her passion. She has running track in the 4^th grade and hasn’t looked back since. She also enjoys weight-training, roller skating, bicycling, riding her motorcycle and feels that just about anything can be turned into an exercise. She enjoys many sports and wants to learn to play golf. Tiger Woods had better “look out!”  That passion and drive has also led to the design and copyright of Monica’s own fitness program called Pel-la-cize©. This innovative program combines Acappella gospel music with circuit training and exercise. Production of the DVDs is scheduled Memorial Day weekend 2010, with distribution projected by Thanksgiving of the same year.  Monica also has her own website, www.onebodyforlife.net, which represents the notion that we only get one body in this lifetime and we need to ensure that it is taken care of as it represents the temple of Christ. As she suggests, “I earnestly believe that each of us will have to give an account of how we took care of the temple that houses our souls!” Her goal is to “empower people of God to be fit for the kingdom of God!”

Monica is single with no children but has 2 Yorkshire Terriers, Syre Duke and Ladie Duchess. She regularly volunteers as a member of the Big Brothers and Big Sisters Foundation. She enjoys and tutors Math at her congregation as well. She also loves to travel, cook, and listen to acappella gospel music. She hates shopping but when she must, you can best believe she’s surfing the Internet looking for the best price.  The girl takes NO price at face value! She has very little tolerance for ignorance, and cold weather (Thus the migration from the northern states to sunny Florida).

Monica first began writing for NtoU more than two years ago. She was approached by CEO and Chief Editor, Angell and asked to submit an article relating to health and fitness, to be published in the Health Matters section of the magazine. Monica jumped at the idea, as it presented an opportunity for her to join an upcoming publication and follow her passion as well. This has led to a positive experience, which has allowed her to articulate health and fitness to many people from a spiritual perspective.