In honor of Women’s History Month, we wanted to highlight a number of our ktMINE employees – shedding light on what it is like to be a woman in the workplace. Many of our female employees share stories of motherhood, overcoming obstacles, and words of encouragement for young women entering the workforce.
Judy Fisher, Accounting & Human Resources
What is your biggest personal and/or career accomplishment?
Raising three amazing young men who know the importance of respecting people from all walks of life and backgrounds along with the importance of hard work and helping others. They also learned it is very important they talk to their mom every week.
Do you have any powerful women role models who influenced you, either famous or personal?
My mother was an amazing person. She made motherhood look like the best job in the world. While raising 5 kids with my dad she went back to college and received her associate degree. While pursuing her bachelor’s degree she was president of my siblings JR High’s PTO, a member of High School Music Boosters, and took on leadership roles in her sisterhood. After receiving her degree in education (at the age of 50) she went on to teach and became president of her sisterhood and Midwest Region President of Women’s League. She taught homebound kids. Even at the age of 70, she began pursuing a Master’s in Special Education. She was always setting new goals for herself. She was always learning new things and teaching others new things. This is a reason one of my sons will tell you that he was raised around very strong women.
Maya Sharma, Data Analyst
What is your biggest personal and/or career accomplishment?
Probably my biggest career accomplishment was my transition from the content side of data to more of the technical/back-end work. I love problem-solving and my degree is in math, so I was really interested in the programming aspect of data analysis, but I wasn’t very familiar with the software or programming languages you would use for it. I got an opportunity to train for technical work at my first job and within maybe nine months I went from watching SQL training videos to managing the majority of tasks in my department. We were short a person that summer so I had to take on a bit more than I was expecting! It was a little like being thrown in the deep end of a pool, but I learned a lot of skills that have served me well over my career.
What advice would you give young women?
I would actually be interested to hear their advice for us! The world is changing so fast now, and I think young women who have grown up with that have really important perspectives. So I guess that would be my advice–not to discount the value of their own ideas and their voices.
Do you have any powerful women role models who influenced you, either famous or personal?
When I was studying math in college, I really looked up to the women in my department, both the professors and the other students. Math is in some ways still a very male-dominated field, so it meant a lot to me to know there were other women who were there with me and that they were succeeding and excelling and finding joy in their work. That was such a formative experience for me, and I’m really grateful to have been in that environment and to have spent time with those women.
Amy Westrick, Marketing Operations & Analytics Specialist
What is your biggest career accomplishment?
My biggest career accomplishment was recently being promoted from a Marketing Coordinator to a Marketing Operations & Analytics Specialist. My hard work and dedication to the ktMINE Marketing team were seen and appreciated.
What advice would you give young women?
Asking questions is not a sign of weakness it is an opportunity for growth.
Ayana Stubblefield, Research Analyst
What is your biggest personal and/or career accomplishment?
Graduating college.
What advice would you give young women?
Continuously work on overcoming the distraction of anything and anyone that does not edify you.
What motivations can you provide to young women entering the workforce today?
Let the quality of your work speak for itself.
Danielle Lambert, Senior Event & Design Specialist
What is your biggest personal and/or career accomplishment?
Finding an employer where I truly enjoy my work and where I am able to be both a vital member of the team and a deeply present mom to my 3-year-old son.
What advice would you give young women?
Don’t let any one thing define you. You are the sum of so many amazing characteristics; good or bad they make you an infinitely more interesting human being.
What is your fondest memory of your mother?
We used to work together during the summers at our local park district summer camp. Spending time with her while also learning how to be a hard-working and empathetic role model/leader was truly priceless.
What motivations can you provide to young women entering the workforce today?
It’s okay to not know what you want to do with the rest of your life immediately. Take some risks and make sure you love what you do.
Michelle Santoro, Customer Success Specialist
What advice would you give young women?
My advice to young women is to not be afraid to step out of their comfort zone. Without taking risks, you never know what you are truly capable of.
Provide a quote/your thoughts around Women’s History Month
”Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.” — Marie Curie
What motivations can you provide to young women entering the workforce today?
Have a good understanding of what is most important for you, professionally and personally. Ask questions, make connections and get advice where you can. You never know where you may find an opportunity.
