Courtney Owens had a career trajectory not dissimilar with that of many Ashburn parents. She worked various jobs in her younger years – including a stint in the U.S. Navy. Then after she married her husband, Dave, and children came around, she was a busy stay-at-home mom for many years, volunteering in her kids’ schools and with local Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts.
Fast forward to when the kids – David, 19, and Samantha, 18 – started flying the nest and it was time for Owens to ask herself, “What’s next?”
The answer – which surprised even her – was cheese.
In 2023, Owens – who lives in Ashburn’s Broadlands neighborhood – took a part-time job at Whole Foods in the Belmont Chase shopping center. She was initially filling online grocery orders, but one day, the cheese department needed somebody to help out.
It would change her life.