Gundula Coleman
Gundula Coleman has accepted and to an extend proven that people can have and achieve whatever they want and hopes to relay this message in her collection of thoughts and experiences as a disabled immigrant. Through her stories, Gundula Coleman shows readers that no matter how overwhelmed they may feel about life, there is always somone out there who has overcome far greater tragedy and that not much is accomplished by being negative, accepting defeat or walling in self-pity.
"Life is a never-ending learning experience and no matter what happens, life is good, short and precious and should be enjoyed and not wasted by 'sweating the small stuff'!" she says. "I do believe that all of us can truly achieve our dreams and goals, once honest with ourselves, faithful, focused an by always maintainig a positive mindset."
Gundula H. Coleman was born in 1962 in, what was then, West Germany as the oldest daughter of four children to Hanna and Helmut Hering. Hanna, a teacher, was born in Tallinn, Estonia and Helmut in Meissen Germany. Even though born with a disability caused by Thalidomide, Gundula manages to live a fully independent and self-sufficient life. Gundula attended boarding school from 1968 to 1981 in Germany and immigrated to the United States in 1982. While living in Los Angeles County, Calif. Gundula met her American Ex-Husband to whom she stayed married till 1989, the year Gundula moved to Bradenton Florida. Throughout her working career, Gundula has worked in various industries as a customer service/ sales representative, translator (German – English) and as an emergency services dispatcher. During Gundula’s emergency services career, Gundula volunteered her language skills to various law enforcement departments. After being misdiagnosed with liver cancer and given literally six months to live in 2000, Gundula decided it was time for a change and left working for “corporate America”. Gundula is now self-employed as a Real Estate Broker and completed her Certified International Property Specialist Designation and curriculum coursework. The curriculum is the educational foundation of the CIPS Network. It distinguishes CIPS designees as individuals who have both hands-on experiences in international real estate transactions, as well as having successfully completed an intensive program of study focusing on critical aspects of transnational transactions and cross-cultural relationships, regional market conditions, investment performance, tax & currency exchange issues and more. In 2004, Gundula was invited and spoke as a Featured Guest at the CEO Inspirational Breakfast at the Keller Williams International Annual Conference in Orlando, Florida. In 2005 Gundula along with her friend Sheryl Nessel, founded a small International Networking Group for International and Foreign Professionals in Sarasota, Florida.
