With International Women’s Day last week, I decided it was time to do a little women celebrating! As a college student seeking a job I’m passionate about someday, I figured there was no better way to celebrate the female population than by talking to women who are empowered by their career. Because we are strong independent women who don't need no man! Can I get an “Amen?”
Not only do I want to show some love for women in the workplace, but for women climbing the ladder into “the Real World” as well. Can’t forget to celebrate these ladies, because one day all their blood, sweat, and tears will have paid off. Well, I suppose not, unless they’re going into the medical, athletics, or psychology fields.
I appreciate the women that are doing everything they can to make sure that their futures will be happy and successful ones. I appreciate the women that have a passion that runs so deep through their veins that it instills a sense of drive in them. I appreciate the women who are independent, but ask for help when they need it. I appreciate the women who are honest with themselves and honest with others. I appreciate women who seek to better themselves everyday and never think they’re too good. I appreciate the women who want to get to the top, their “top,” all by themselves so they can one day say they earned it. These are the women I think we should celebrate.
I wanted to ask a few women about what empowers them about their experiences, their futures, and their current careers. First I asked women who are currently still in college.
Allison Kumnick, junior, president of MEDLIFe at Miami University says, “Miami has given me every opportunity I could have asked for as an undergraduate, in all aspects of my life. I found a student organization with a mission I will hold near to my heart for the rest of my life. My involvement with that organization, MEDLIFE, has taken me across the world, literally, and turned me into a leader. On top of that, the classes I have taken for my biochemistry major have fully prepared me to take the MCAT this semester. My experience at Miami as a whole, has made me into someone that medical schools will want to accept (hopefully)!”
Aside from Kumnick's achievements with MEDLIFE, she should be bragging about the fact that she climbed to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro. Way to go, Allison!
Next, I asked a junior nursing student from Ohio State University. Brittany Pike talked about what empowers her about her prospective career. Pike says, "From an outside perspective, nursing may seem like a routine job, a position in which one passes medications and performs procedures in attempts to treat a detrimental disease process that has turned a patient’s world upside down. From an inside perspective, nursing is not just a job, but a way of life. A path I have chosen, as I will have the privilege to serve others in their weakest moments for the rest of my career. Anyone can teach you the procedures and medications necessary to treat a disease, but it takes a nurse to look past that disease and see a person. A person in need of compassion, treatment, love, empathy, and understanding. Aperson who deserves to be treated as an individual, not a diagnosis. A person who needs a cheerleader, a supporter, a listener, a friend, a nurse. From Ohio State’s nursing school that has taught me everything I know about the medical field and the nurse’s role on the healthcare team, to the coast of California, where I got my first experience in emergency medicine at Stanford University, to every patient that has positively impacted my life leaving me forever changed through my work as an STNA at a nursing home, the most important thing all these experiences have taught me is how to look past the external characteristics of a person: his/ her hair color, hobbies, political views or disease process, and to see a person deserving of love and care. From an outside perspective, a patient’s condition may seem like a disease process in need of treatment. From an inside perspective, that person is an individual with a life outside that disease process, in need of much more than a treatment -- in need of a nurse.”
Kelly Williams, sophomore Education student at Ohio University says, “The reason I want to be a teacher is to make a difference in kid's lives, especially after teaching in inner-city schools and seeing how fortunate I am. It empowers me when I see things start to click for kids that have been struggling. There are bigger things that these kids will achieve in their lives and I helped them get to that point.”
Next I decided to ask women who currently have careers in the field relating to their area of study from their university.
Ashleigh Mavros at Fahlgren Mortine, a graduate from the Ohio University E.W. Scripps School of Journalism says, "My passion for what I do started long before my first job -- I fell in love with the world of journalism during my time at Scripps. I had always had strong reading and writing skills throughout elementary and high school, but Ohio University really helped guide me in the direction of my dreams. Today, I’m so fortunate to be in a position that lets me thrive creatively, constantly challenge myself in new ways and have supportive colleagues who also know how to have a little fun."
Heather Bartman, also currently working at Fahlgren Mortine, admits something quite similar about being able to thank Scripps for her successes in the job world. “The E.W. Scripps School of Journalism will forever be where I attribute my professional successes. The classes gave me a competitive skill set. Student organizations gave me experience. My peers gave me connections. Professors gave me support and opportunities. The collective experience of attending Scripps gave me the confidence to enter the job market as more than an eager new grad, but as a strategic and marketable young professional with big goals and a strong work ethic.”
After the electrifying responses I was receiving from these women, it made me wonder empowered the women I love most dearly. I wanted to ask some of my family members… ones I see making a difference in people’s lives every day.
The first lady I asked was my 17-year-old cousin, Amie Swift, who hopes to one day be a pediatric surgeon. It has always confused me why she wanted to work her life away in school studying something that required such strenuous work. Her answer, apart from making me tear up, made that confusion clear for me. About her aspirations, she says, "As one may know, the life of a women is sticky. We are put in sticky situations where we are seen as inadequate and sometimes unworthy. What do we do in these situations? Well, in my case, as a woman in my junior year of high school, is do everything I can to achieve my goals. As an aspiring pediatric surgeon, I know this path isn't easy. My life is consisted of school, homework, varsity sports, work and most importantly the Hope Program at Stonybrook Hospital. When I heard of this program, I knew it was something I needed to do, so I wrote an essay and filled out the application. I was then picked to do an interview and in this interview was a very serious woman. She was intimidating and stern. As a women who has worked so hard for a mere glimpse of my goals, I didn't let her harsh persona get to me. All I did was talk about how much helping people meant to me and for her that was all she needed. The hard work and passion for creating a life that can help thousands of other lives is not my motivation, but just me. It's what I live for and what I believe I was put on this earth to do. I will get there. I don't know when, but I will. I was in Hope one day and was learning about the protein deficiency in the brains of Alzheimers patients and the daily routines of midwives and I thought to myself, this is what people can do... These are the amazing accomplishments human beings can achieve... It made me wonder, 'How far can I reach? How much can I do?' When I finally understood the theory of infinity..."
Next, I asked my cousin Andrea Graham Richeson, who is not only hilarious, but encouraging and inspiring. "The most personally empowering achievements for me always started by taking a risk. I've found that when I push myself outside of my comfort zone, whether by taking on a public speaking opportunity, reaching out to interesting people outside of my industry or pursing my 'weird ideas' I reap the greatest rewards. What I've learned is that opportunity doesn't fall in your lap, it comes from taking crazy chances. Is it scary? Hell yeah! But it's always worth it." Aside from her full time job, my cousin also started Nashville Rebricked. "Rebricked is one of those crazy ideas that brought such wonderful opportunities and people into my life. Launched in the winter of 2015, Rebricked is Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Fundraising Project in which I build or rubric popular pop culture moments out of LEGO. It all started as a wintertime whim, that combined two of my obsessions at the time, LEGO vignettes and the TV show, 'Nashville.' Even though I hadn't played with LEGO in 20 years, I knew that i wanted to try my hand at building again and so, Nashville became my muse and the LLS, my cause. I uploaded pictures of my Nashville scenes to my social accounts and it just took off. Not only did my risk pay off, it also helped raise thousands of dollars for a much deserving cause. The feedback was so positive from the cast, creators and fans that I'm going to launch a second season this summer with an exciting new subject, country music videos."
And finally, I asked my mother, who is the heart behind it all… my hero and my best friend. She has endured more in her life than I will ever be able to giver her enough credit for. About what empowers her, she says, “It always feels good when you survive something challenging and you can look back and realize there’s not much you can’t do. It’s even better when your daughter realizes the same thing in her own life! This is true in your personal life, as well as the work place. As Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “A woman is like a tea bag, you cannot tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water.”
