Now calling the Kansas City Metro home, Dinkens was born and raised in Liberal, KS. Dinkens graduated from Liberal High School (LHS) in 2003 while completing dual credits at Seward County Community College (SCCC). In 2004, she graduated from SCCC with an Associates in Criminal Justice, due to completing a full year of college during her Junior and Senior years at LHS. Relocating to Jackson, Mississippi on an academic scholarship at Jackson State University. Dinkens returned to Kansas to finish out her undergrad degree at Washburn University and graduated in 2006. Attending Baker University to obtain an MBA in 2013. Dinkens founded and ran a local nonprofit, Women Empowerment in Topeka, KS from 2010 to 2016. She transitioned into the educational field in 2017, leading her to finish her final degree, MSE at Fort Hays to secure her next career, as a high school business teacher in the KC metro. “My experience at SCCC prepared me and allowed me to further my education at four-year universities. Without the foundation, guidance, and support of my small-town, rural community, I am not sure that I would have been as successful”.