Renique Kersh is the Assistant Dean for Academic Affairs in the College of Applied Health Sciences at the University of Illinois. The Michigan native, who has lived in Illinois since 2005, is also pursuing a Ph.D. in Community Health. An avid runner, she plans to participate in the Illinois Marathon 10K this weekend. She and husband John are the proud parents of two beautiful little boys, 5-year-old John (BJ) and 3-year-old Jayden. The family lives in Champaign.
See why we think Renique Kersh is a Chambana mom to know.
Q: Why did you decide to do the Lemonade Day program with your son, and what did you learn from the experience last year?
I actually heard about the Lemonade Day program through one of the e-bulletins that comes out at the University. My father was an entrepreneur and as a child I was always up to some type of entrepreneural pursuit whether it was a lemonade stand, selling t-shirts or selling banners for parties. I am a true believer that there are opportunities in every new and creative pursuit to potentially find your niche’ so that it was I hoped for my little guy. I was and still am, very interested in seeing whether this is the type of thing that will really connect with his inner drive. So far, I think he’s had a lot of fun and it’s been a great opportunity for us all to work together as a family to raise money for one of our favorite charities, Larkin’s Place (now part of the Champaign County YMCA). Last year, we chose Larkin’s Place and I had an opportunity to show my son the video of Larkin. It really resonated with BJ and even now if I ask him who he wants to pray for at night, he generally includes Larkin. It’s amazing to see how he has connected to a little girl that he has never even met. He is a very compassionate child and very precocious so this gave us an opportunity to appeal to both of these characteristics in him.
Q: Who came up with B.J.’s famous strawberry lemonade concoction – and can we have the recipe? (Let us know where his lemonade stand will be, too!)
Well, I’m a believer in not trying to reinvent the wheel so I chose, instead, to adjust an already awesome recipe from Emeril Lagasse. The not-so-secret ingredient in our lemonade is the watermelon and a ton of it. We also add about two times more sugar which is a huge draw. BJ also adds lemonade ice cubes and strawberries too. This year his lemonade stand will be in conjunction with our garage sale on May 1 at 11 a.m. at 805 W. Daniel Street (the garage sale begins at 8 a.m.). Just look for the huge lemon hanging that will say “BJ’s World Famous Lemonade.” We were so excited this year that he won the best lemonade contest for the second year in a row and this time he was the judge’s favorite!
Q: We understand that this year BJ will be raising money for the tsunami victims as well as Larkin’s Place at the Y – please tell us why he selected those beneficiaries?
He has shown a lot of compassion for Larkin ever since I shared the video with him. There are times when we may drive past a park and he’ll say something like, “Larkin may not be able to play there right mommy, because she may hurt her head.” I shared her story, but he has shared his innocent compassion. That is one of the many blessings that comes so natural to children and I really pray that he grows up to have a compassionate spirit so it just made sense to keep going. As for the tsumani victims he happened to see the news and just began asking questions about it. He was so sad to hear that people’s houses had been torn down and that people died so I asked him if he wanted to raise money for the victims as well and he eagerly agreed. Ironically, he’s become a bit fascinated by the weather too as a result.
Q: We’ll be talking about work/life balance at our Good Enough is the New Perfect Mom’s Night Out tonight. Do you have any tried-and-true work/life balance strategies that work for you?
Wow, that’s a tough one because I am honestly trying my best to get that one under control. I think I can certainly say that God and my family keeps me grounded and I constantly try to keep that in mind every time that balance gets out of whack. The one bit of advice I would give though is that sometimes you just have to take “your time”. I think as mothers and perfectionists, we tend to spend all of our time trying to “get the job done” for everyone else, but even if it means just going for a run for 15 minutes or sitting in the bathroom with the door locked (because we all know that our children would hang out there with us if it wasn’t) for 10 minutes, it is so important to just find the space we need. That is my work-in-progress area. I get better at it every year.
Q: Mother’s Day is coming up. What does the holiday mean to you and do you have any ideas on how you want to celebrate this year?
I think it is definitely a day to just reflect on the blessing of motherhood. I often tell parents that I so appreciate that they have entrusted me and my staff to be the stand-ins for them while their children attend the University. I believe that God has the same trust in me and he wants me to do everything in my power to make the best of motherhood and to be the best mom that I can be. What a precious little gift our children are and I am so grateful because although I spent forever trying to figure out my career, I always knew I wanted to be a mother. This year, I would LOVE to be surprised and just pampered all day! That could mean having breakfast as a family (that I haven’t cooked), watching movies, going out for a cup of coffee with a good book or magazine and of course, flowers and a massage wouldn’t hurt ;0). I love getting the little gifts that the boys make for me in school too. They are so touching and they are great to take out and look at throughout the year.
Q: It’s also Marathon Week — how would you describe the experience?
I will be running in the 10K. I’d love to do the marathon, but unfortunately, I have been having trouble with my IT bands since I ran the Chicago marathon in 2005 and although I need to try and get some physical therapy I just haven’t taken a moment to go and do it. Instead, I just keep running, but definitely a lot slower and shorter distance than before. I love running races though. I’ve been an athlete all my life and I have always enjoyed the adrenaline rush of competing against myself. I also love all of the great supporters that come out and the opportunities to meet new people.
Lemonade Day this year is May 1. Support local young entrepreneurs!