I'm originally from Serbia, and I've been in the United States for 28 years. Twenty of those years have been with Luby's.

I actually became a General Manager for the first time when I was only 22, working for a French bakery. Looking back, I sometimes wonder how I survived being that young and having that much responsibility. I think it was my energy, and the fact that I refused to give up. If I didn't know something, I learned it. If something was difficult, I worked harder. And along the way, I was fortunate to have people who believed in me and pushed me forward.

I joined Luby's 20 years ago, and that same determination has carried me through my career here.

English is my second language, and even today I sometimes catch myself wondering, is my English good enough? Am I saying this the right way? No one else tells me that. It's me telling myself that. And lately, I've decided it's time to stop letting that voice hold me back.

For most of the last 20 years, before anything else, I was Mom. I was working, raising my children, running from Luby's to daycare, usually the last mom there to pick them up, and doing whatever needed to be done to give my kids the life I wanted for them. I call those years survival mode.

Now my children are older. They're finding their own paths, and I'm beginning to think more about mine.

I love leading my team. We're different ages, different personalities and different backgrounds, but somehow it works. They're young, energetic and hungry to learn, and that makes me want to keep learning, too.

My next dream is to lead on an even bigger scale, helping other General Managers and multiple restaurants become successful. For years, I've wondered if I was ready. Now I think I am.

I've spent my life learning as I go, changing when I need to change and refusing to give up. Maybe it's time to see where that can take me next.