She was born and raised in northern Montana on a small farm.

“When I was in my teens we moved to the nearby small town -- population 350. Northeastern Montana terrain is a lot like eastern New Mexico, just much colder in the winter with shorter summers,” said Dr. Drabbs.

She is the oldest of six children.

“I have one sister in Idaho, and the other four siblings are still in Montana. I now have 14 nieces and nephews, two great-nieces, and soon another great-niece and a great-nephew,” said Dr. Drabbs.

She was crowned Miss Western Montana College during her undergraduate years.

“Neither then, nor now, does that fit my persona, but a friend was in charge of conducting the pageant and she needed more contestants,” explained Dr. Drabbs.

Before Eastern she was at UT Austin completing her doctorate, one of her biggest accomplishments. Before that she was an assistant professor at Eastern Washington University in Spokane as Director of the Body Shop – the campus fitness center.

“My first career was teaching English at the high school level. One of my extracurricular duties in the schools was coaching drill teams,” said Dr. Drabbs, “I became interested in physical fitness, earned a master's degree in that, and then found I had an interest in the broader area of health and wellness.”

She choose to get her doctorate in health education because “health is vital at all ages, and preparing people to teach health in different capacities maximizes any influence I might have.

“Becoming a university professor was the end of a journey. When I resigned from teaching English at the high school level and returned to college to switch careers, I had not planned on getting a doctorate.

“However, as I was using my master's degree to supervise the college fitness center, I discovered that I really missed teaching."

She enjoys interactions with her students and helping them “get it.”

She keeps herself updated on information related to health and wellness and currently belongs to a book club that reads about gardening. She also enjoys to embroidering, knitting and hooking rugs.

Dr. Drabbs has had many mentors throughout her schooling and career, all of whom were teachers at some level. They challenged her to try different activities and subjects and provided her with opportunities and advice.

“I taught for more than 30 years, and each year there were memorable moments.

"Now that I am at the end of my career it has been gratifying to be honored as a Professor Emeritus at ENMU and to be inducted into the Educators Hall of Fame at my undergraduate college, Western Montana College--now University of Montana at Western,” said Dr. Drabbs.