When I was a kid, I wanted to be ... a civil engineer specializing in environmental engineering. I had lofty goals of saving the planet until I got into engineering school at Texas Tech University. I made the dean's list, but I was bored and couldn't see myself doing that for the rest of my life. Now, with my job, I can still do something to make a difference but in a way that better suits my personality.

What would you rather be doing right now? Sitting on a beach in Hilton Head, S.C., reading a good book and drinking a fruity cocktail with my friends and family.

Shhhhhh! Don't tell anyone that ... I can be shy and I tend to be quiet when I am in a new situation with new people. That will be hard to believe for those who know me.

Other than your wedding day and/or the birth of your children, what was your proudest moment? Recently with John Wood Community College's Earth Day electronics collection, we collected seven semi-trucks and 12 rental trailers full of electronics that will be spared from going in a landfill. For a community this size, the results were phenomenal, and the community support was encouraging.

It really stinks when ... someone continues to misspell your first name, even after knowing you for a long time. It's particularly annoying if you use a signature at the end of every e-mail with your full name or you have your first name in your e-mail address and people still get it wrong in an e-mail. My husband and I both have atypical spellings of our first names, so we chose a really easy name to spell for our son, Benjamin, so he wouldn't have to deal with that. It's hard to mess up the name Ben.

What word in the dictionary would your face be next to? "Fun."

I always laugh when ... I'm awake, and I've been told I also laugh in my sleep. I'm generally a happy and upbeat person. I try to find the humor in almost anything.

Invite any three people, living or dead, to dinner. Who are they? Albert Einstein, because he obviously would have a lot of interesting ideas to share, but he seems like someone with a good sense of humor. Anyone with hair like that has got to be fun at a party. Oprah Winfrey, because she's so influential and inspirational and can turn anything to gold by mentioning it on her television show, but yet she seems so down to earth and comes from such humble beginnings. And Frank Lloyd Wright, because his designs are timeless, inventive and versatile without being complicated. Everything is just simple, beautiful and (I can imagine) easy to live with.

At the end of a really long day at work, I like to ... relax with my friends and family with a good meal, a good glass of red wine, great conversation, and I try to laugh about the day.

People who knew me in high school thought I was ... a class clown. I was always cutting up and acting goofy when I got bored.

My most unforgettable brush with greatness was ... when I worked for St. Louis and Chicago photographer Brian Kuhlmann. We were hired by Anheuser-Busch to shoot an ad campaign, and I hired R & amp;B singer Usher's personal wardrobe stylist (now his wife) Tameka Foster as our wardrobe stylist for a three-day photo shoot in St. Louis. It was so fun to see the clothes she brought in. She had top designers shipping her crates of clothes for free for our shoot.

I would drop all my plans tonight if I had the chance to ... go to Europe.

If someone gave me a million dollars, there is still no way I would ... deep-sea dive.

America should be more concerned about ... recycling. Our landfills are not a permanent waste-elimination solution. We have to think of how we can minimize the amount of waste we produce. If you've ever been to a landfill, it's alarming to drive on top of a mountain of trash. It's sickening.

I'm OK if there's ever a national shortage of ... flip-flops. I have a shoe collection problem, and flip-flops are a particular favorite. I once lived near between the Galleria and a DSW store in Dallas. That was dangerous. I went shopping every weekend and accumulated a lot of stuff during that time.

What place in the world would you most like to visit? La Sainte Chapelle in Paris. I took an architectural history course and really enjoyed learning about Gothic architecture. This cathedral has floor-to-ceiling stained-glass walls that are unbelievable. The light coming through the glass changes throughout the day with the movement of the sun, so every time you're in the cathedral, the look of the space changes.

What is the most useful piece of advice you have ever received? My mom told me to always trust my instincts. That advice works for many situations -- whether you're choosing a new home, a spouse or a career path. Nine times out of 10, if you go with your gut and try not to overanalyze things, you'll wind up making better decisions for yourself.

When I'm cruising down the road, I'm likely listening to ... something alternative rock, but that's hard to find in Quincy, so I settle for something with a good beat and I try to download a lot of music to my iPod. My husband has turned me in to a Pearl Jam fan, so I listen to them quite a bit. They're a good band to listen to full blast with the windows down, singing your heart out.

I always get sentimental when ... I think about my little boy. He just makes me melt. I sit for hours and play with him while he blows razzberries, and when he gets tickled I don't know who laughs harder -- Ben or me.

The older I get, the more I realize ... the importance of family.

If I had one "do-over," I would ... not change anything. I don't have any regrets, but if I had to name something -- I might avoid a bad date or two while I was in college. I had a few doozies.

My favorite item of clothing is ... a Texas Tech crew T-shirt. Texas Tech University is in the dust bowl in Lubbock, and there isn't any significant water source there, so when I originally bought the shirt about 10 years ago, I thought it was funny. It's the perfect size and color. I've worn it so much that now it's so soft and comfortable. It's the perfect T-shirt.

If I've learned anything at all ... people will amaze you. When you get a group of people together who are passionate about something and they work well together, you really can't predict what will happen next.

Kelli Langston, 32, is a native Texan. She has lived in Quincy for almost two years. She's been married for eight years to her husband, Bryan. She has a 9-month-old boy named Benjamin, two cats and a beagle-basset named Lester. She is the community education specialist at John Wood Community College. She plans noncredit courses and art gallery exhibits, and she coordinates Earth Day events.