Who is Karen Carps?

Karen Carps, owner and operater of GuppyFish Web Design, LLC, is a Christian wife, mom, musician, and computer geek. She graduated from East Carolina University in 1997 with a degree in Music Education and quickly began her career as an elementary music teacher. Her experience as a music teacher combined with her interest in computers and technology opened a new career path for her. After having taught elementary music for nine years, she accepted a position with Chesterfield County Public Schools as an Instructional Technology Integrator, a job that allowed her to combine her interests to help teachers learn to incorporate technology into their delivery of curriculum. While in this job, she received training in web design software, which piqued her interest. She continued learning beyond that training to build her web design skills.

When Abigail (Abby) was born in April 2009, Karen realized her lifelong dream of being a mother and really wanted to stay home to raise her family. She resigned her position with the school system and became a stay-at-home mom. GuppyFish Web Design allows her the freedom to do this while keeping her creative juices flowing. In addition to being a wife, mother, and web designer, Karen works with a local marching band during the fall and teaches private flute lessons at her home. She's also very active at Journey Christian Church, where you can often find her in the crow's nest running the computer that displays various media on the screen.

Why GuppyFish?

With a last name like Carps, it's pretty hard to get away from fish references, so Karen decided to run with it. Her maiden name is Buck, so she enjoys telling people that she went from hunting to fishing in the name department. When Karen was pregnant with her daughter and did not know yet if she was having a boy or a girl, she and her husband referred to the baby as "Guppy". In a sense, the name GuppyFish was born when her daughter was!

Additionally, Karen's faith in God is her driving force and is fundamental in her life. The symbol of the fish is a way for her to honor God.