Maybe it was the elf in the TV special "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer" who wanted to be a dentist, or maybe she just enjoys helping people. But ever since Kim Nowlin Brians was a little girl, she wanted to be a dental hygienist.

"My dream has always been to be a dental hygienist," said Brians. "I grew up in a very small town, Vian, and graduated from Vian High School in May 1985. My plan, at the time, was to move to Tahlequah to attend Northeastern State University to get my basics out of the way, then transfer to Rose State College in Oklahoma City, attend their dental hygiene program, which at the time was the only school in Oklahoma to have such a program."

As luck would have it, Brians gave up her dream of dental hygiene when she got married after attending one year at NSU.

"Now a wife and planning to one day be a mother, I set my sights on a new career I could attain without leaving Tahlequah: teaching," she said. "I decided to pursue a degree in education with a major in English and a minor in physical education."

After graduating, she went on to teach English and serve as varsity cheerleading coach at Tahlequah High School -- a career pit-stop that lasted 18 years.

"After a major life change in 2005, I decided to return to my first love -- dental hygiene," she said. "I knew that if I didn't, I would always wonder if that was my true calling. So I decided to go for it!"

During her last year at THS, Brians, by this time a single mom, drove to Muskogee and Tulsa two nights a week to complete 17 hours of prerequisites she needed to apply to the Tulsa Community College dental hygiene program in March 2006.

"Fortunately, I was one of 14 selected out of 88 applicants that year to enter the program," she said. "At that moment, I knew I had to relocate closer to Tulsa in order to attend school. After 18 wonderful years, I resigned from THS -- a very emotional and bittersweet experience for me -- and moved to Coweta, along with my daughters, Natalie and Lindsay."

In the past two years, she met and married Keith Brians, a coach and American history teacher at Coweta High School, and returned to Tahlequah to begin her second career.

"I returned to Tahlequah to work for Dr. [Matthew] Walker, which is wonderful, because I not only have roots here, but also very precious memories and friends," she said. "There is no way I could have realized my goal without the love and support of my family and friends, especially my husband and beautiful girls."

Brians has achieved her dream, but it wasn't long ago that a lifetime career was the only goal most folks set for themselves. Loyalty, job stability and financial security were the norm, especially in a world where women had few options.

In the past, both employers and employees valued loyalty and tenure. Today, employers value productivity and employees value job satisfaction.

Career changes, terminations, and job-hopping by people of all ages is now the rule, not the exception. Whatever the reason, sometimes voluntary or unexpected career changes will happen.

Tahlequah Municipal Airport Manager Greg Blish spent 18 years in law enforcement before embarking on his new venture. But like Brians, Blish had a history in his current area of expertise.

"I've always loved aviation," said Blish. "I've held a pilot's license since I was 12."