Never let words count you out!

I was abandoned at a Catholic church as a small child when my mother was forced to have me because she couldn’t afford an illegal abortion. I grew up in an orphanage and then foster care.

I was pregnant at 16, kept my baby and finished school despite being told I’d be just like my mother and amount to nothing.

Through the generosity of the church and my foster mother I attended the University of WA where I got a degree in Aeronautical Engineering despite being told it was not a girl’s field.

I got a job in an aerospace manufacturing company where I worked as a buyer for a few years and went to a technical college where I became a certified journeyman machinist.

The teacher hated me and said I was a distraction.

From there I went onto another community college and got an APIM certification while working days and going to school nights. I was promoted to an International Marketing Manager and took a leave of absence to go for my MBA at Tuck University at Dartmouth because they also had some very fine leadership courses.

I ultimately became VP of Operations where it was my job to turn around companies in our business that were failing I went on to become a CEO.

Unfortunately I suffered a debilitating stroke while on a business trip to London only 3 years later. Doctors said “You will never walk, never talk and never work again.

I walked within 4 weeks and talked shortly after.

I returned to work after 6 months, but found it impossible to do well. Never to be a half-assed executive, I retired and my life consists of volunteer work now. A woman has the ability to withstand great hardship if she chooses to use the negativity of others as her motivator and persevere. “Perseverance is necessary to establish perfection” (a Masonic mantra).