B Magazine: Outside the Office: Stephanie Turner finds purpose in helping students and giving old things new life

Stephanie Turner spent much of her childhood in a single-parent home, with a creative mother who taught her how to make things work and to do what she could with what she had. Skirts were mended, dresses were made and leftover uniform material was used to make a pencil case for school. According to Turner, they were always about fixing rather than buying new.

“My grandparents were the same,” Turner said. “I later found out they were millionaires, but they acted like they didn’t have two pennies to rub together. They were hardworking and modest.”

Between thrifty grandparents and a resourceful mother, Turner grew up with the knowledge that money doesn’t make you happy. She valued what she had and envisioned the potential of what something could be. The pairing of life lessons, along with the 3Rs from grade school — reduce, reuse, recycle — shaped Turner into the person she is today.

As a homebound teacher with Jackson R-2 Schools, Turner works with students who have a medical or mental health issue that prevents them from attending school within the building. Turner says this can be someone recovering from surgery with limited mobility, a new parent or a student dealing with extreme anxiety. Turner's job is to become their temporary instructor, meeting individually with high school students to teach math, reading/language arts, science and social studies.

“My goal is to get them on track and back to school,” Turner said. “I want them to know I care and [I’m here] to help them succeed, no matter their diagnosis or their situation. If I have students who don’t believe in themselves, my job is to build them up to see their full potential.”

How Turner views her students — full of potential, purpose and life — is how Turner views much of the world around her. In a society that gives up, tosses out and moves on, Turner aims to restore, reclaim and repurpose, hoping that her family can be part of the solution rather than part of the problem.

As they built their home in 2020, the Turners salvaged wood from a family barn to create their stair railing. The spindles came from cut rebar that they spray-painted black. Their family spent several nights at the brickyard, gathering mismatched bricks for the outside of their home. Multiple doors, windows, bathtubs, light fixtures and furniture were reclaimed by the Turners after being passed on by someone else.

Turner says that sometimes she has to pass, too.

“I’d be a hoarder if I kept every single thing I see. I want to create something beautiful but I also need peace and tranquility.”

These days, Turner spends her time flipping outdated campers, those that are dingy and dark, and giving them new life with a modern design. Once she decides the vibe of the small space, maybe boho or cabin, she gets to work taking out the old and filling it with the new, making it truly feel like a “home on wheels.” Turner says her family loves to camp and uses each one until it sells. She’s flipped a dozen over the last three years and often shares her process on social media, hoping to inspire others who want to repurpose and reclaim.

Most recently, Turner converted a broken-down hot tub into an outdoor habitat for pet turtles. She also adapted her son’s trampoline into a chicken enclosure, making sure the boys could still jump while protecting the chickens from hawks and other predators. Turner says the goal is always quality of life — for the turtles, for the chickens, for everybody. And while she likes to be productive at work and outside the office, Turner is careful not to spread herself too thin.

“My work is always different, and I like that,” Turner said. “I see about three students a day and always want to give each student the best of me. I’m not sure I could have a job where I wasn’t helping someone.”

Turner’s flexible work schedule allows her the freedom to take on creative projects, a practice that she says keeps her focused and grounded. With a little effort, Turner knows she can take something worn down, dirty or discarded and make it look good again. Giving an item purpose, or restoring it to what it once was, has become a natural form of therapy for Turner. It’s how she keeps her brain motivated, which allows her to show up better in the world. And she is never afraid of a challenge.

“We fail at a lot of things and we learn,” Turner said. “But [doing this type of work] fills my cup. Not everything turns out perfect. But we can figure it out as we go.”