Who are Renardo and Natricia Edwards?

Born to Armster (Ump) and Alice Edwards, Renardo, graduated from Parker High School in Birmingham, Alabama in 1994. I am Natricia, and I am the daughter of Charles and Natricia Rogers. I graduated from Alba High School, located in Bayou la Batre, Alabama, with an advanced diploma with honors in 1994. 

 

Renardo and I met and fell in love in college at Alabama State University. We moved to Birmingham in 1995, where we lived with his brother, Nathaniel Edwards for a few months. We are eternally grateful for Nathan’s support during this time. He allowed us to launch our lives in a new city and showed us the value of family helping family out. He helped Nard get a good job and we were able to move out on our own within three months. He took a chance on us and empowered us. 

 

I enlisted in the military in August of 1997. The down side from this is that we were away from family and could only rely on ourselves. This forced us to adapt to a changing world and learn to do a lot of things on our own without the support of family. The up side from this is that the Army afforded me tremendous amounts of opportunities, training, and exposed me to a different life entirely. I am proud to have served my country. 

 

While I was in the military, Renardo obtained his Associates Degree in General Studies, his Bachelor’s Degree in History, and an Associate’s degree in Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC). Renardo created and operated a Football League for the boys on West Fort Hood whose fathers were called away to war. He had the older boys in our neighborhood serve as coaches for the younger boys. It was the beginning of Nard’s empowerment of others. This league gave the boys a male mentor in the absence of their fathers. Renardo and I also started a Flea Market business at the same time. This would eventually be converted into our eBay business, when we moved to Fort Bliss, Texas where we bought our first house. We also learned first hand how expensive Texas property taxes can be. 

After several more moves, I retired from the military. I had served as a Signal Soldier for almost ten years and had determined that I did not like working in the outdoors, camping in remote parts of nature, or the monotony of my job, so I changed. I signed up to work as a paralegal which was the polar opposite of what I was doing before. I was a paralegal for almost ten years before retiring. We settled in Huntsville, Alabama so that we could be closer to home. 

 

Unfortunately, we had a relatively rough transition from the military. Renardo and I ended up separating and eventually divorcing for less than a year. During that time, like most divorced couples, we had some financial hardships due to the separation and numerous problems arose. I would say, thanks to the Grace of God we reconciled, overcame our hardships, and are in a better place now. We are stronger than ever. 

 

I, along with our three kids, am currently attending college. Three of us attend college at the University of Huntsville in Alabama and one attends college at Portland State University in Oregon. We believe in education, and are continuously trying to learn something new. 

 

Our goal now is to harness everything we’ve learned and are learning and use it to lift our immediate and extended family, the Edwards Family. Eventually, we hope to lift other families as well through Edwards Empowerment. 

By Natricia A. Edwards