“When I think back to what my life was like before I became a Realtor, I almost can’t believe how much things have changed,” Mandy Stark marvels. “I don’t recognize the woman I was a few years ago.”

A mentor agent on the Lincoln Select Real Estate Group at Nebraska Realty, Mandy jumped into real estate in July 2023. In her first full year, she closed over $6.5 million across 21.75 transactions, earned Nebraska Realty’s Lincoln Metro Rookie of the Year, and hit President’s Club—then surpassed her entire prior-year volume by October of this year. All the more impressive considering the health challenges she faced on her ascent.

Before real estate, Mandy spent 13 years teaching 6–12 Art, Spanish, and French, while coaching middle school volleyball and basketball and high school softball and speech. Burnout and health realities forced a hard look at life. 

“I was struggling with a lot of health issues that never seemed to get better, but I had no idea what to do next or where to begin,” she shares. “With the support of my husband, and the encouragement of some very dear friends who are also Realtors, I embarked on a career in real estate and it completely changed my life.”

Timing also mattered. “It wasn’t until I got married that I felt like I could finally step away from the classroom,” she explains.

That’s when a longtime friend, Russ Meyer, nudged her forward. 

“Russ’s response was, ‘Try real estate!’” she recalls with a laugh. Along with her team owner and mentor, Matt Mick, who helped make the leap easier, Mandy hit the ground running, despite being sick the entire second half of 2022.

“I know I wouldn’t have made it this far in real estate, let alone experienced the wild success I’ve had, without LSREG either,” she says. “It’s a place where every person on the team genuinely cares for one another and cheers in successes and grows through failures together.”

The fit clicked because the work felt familiar, even if the hours were different.

“Making phone calls feels easy to do, I dealt with angry parents for years,” she quips. “One big similarity I’ve noticed is that you can have your day planned out perfectly and it will turn out differently often. But you have to be able to pivot quickly based on feedback you’re getting, just like teaching.”

Faith is the anchor that steadied her through a brutal season with Hashimoto’s, an autoimmune disorder that flared just as Mandy was starting her new career. 

“With a lot of time spent in prayer, the help of my husband and my functional medicine practitioner, I am well on the road to restoring my health,” she shares. “That’s something I will never take for granted and for which I am grateful every day.” 

She points to a favorite verse: “Jeremiah 29:11, ‘For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.’”

That perspective shapes her approach to business and life. “I don’t live out my faith perfectly, but I can only credit the immense success of my experience to the grace of God,” she emphasizes. “I look at how different my life is now and I can’t take credit for that.

“For me, success is having a healthy marriage, a healthy body and fulfilling God’s purpose for my life,” she adds. “Nothing matters more to me now than my marriage and my health.”

Mandy leads with unending calm and clarity. The result is steady confidence and fewer surprises. “When there is an issue, I am able to be compassionate while getting the issues solved,” she points out. “But I try to foresee the issue before it becomes one to eliminate any surprises.”

There’s no question that active listening is Mandy’s superpower. “Most people don’t care about why you’re the best; they want to know they can trust you and that you will take care of them, and truly listening to them is the first, crucial step to building that trust.” 

And she keeps the teacher's playbook close, too. 

“I’ve learned how to listen well and figure out the root cause of conflict or where the lack of understanding is to educate my clients,” she explains. “I’m still a natural teacher at my office, too — I can’t help it!”

Born in Missouri and raised in Nebraska from age eight, Mandy grew up in Shelton and earned an Art & Spanish Education degree through UNL and Doane University. At home in Lincoln with her husband, Jason, she stays connected to her big blended family — five grown stepchildren (Jayon, Keshara, Bryce, Jazlynn and Braylon), four step-grandkids, and a black Lab mix named Louie “who is really just an overgrown puppy!”

As Mandy’s health has returned, the couple enjoy keeping active together. 

“We love to go for walks and bike rides, and attend live sporting events,” Mandy shares. “We’re huge Husker volleyball fans, and also enjoy watching the Husker men’s and women’s basketball teams play.”

In her downtime, Mandy prefers to unwind in the kitchen or her art studio. “I mostly paint these days, but I love making art with all kinds of media,” she elaborates.

Service threads through her calendar, too. Her family are members of Calvary Community Church, and Mandy has volunteered for 15 years at Royal Family Kids Camp. 

Looking ahead, momentum is building and Mandy isn’t forcing a business plan — she’s allowing one to form while she practices gratitude. For now, she’s doubling down on the priorities that brought her here in the first place, while remaining open to the endless possibilities the industry brings.

And she’s clear on the foundation beneath the next chapter: “My number one goal is always to serve God in every facet of my life,” she concludes. “For the first time in a very long time, I am flourishing, and that is such a powerful motivator for me to keep on keeping on!”