How I Began my Career in Public Service
I’ve been with the City for over 28 years now. I started in the Engineering Department as an office assistant. I was a college student who didn’t intend to stay with the City, but as opportunities came about I found myself enjoying what I did. I’m currently over the Transit Department which repairs city vehicles, transit that is the city’s bus service, and the airport. At the airport we manage City contracts to run the day-to-day operations of the buildings, the grounds, and capital projects.
My Earliest Memory of Women’s History Month
I remember Nancy Reagan being a big influence back in the 80’s when I was in school. Then there’s Christa McAuliffe who was on the Challenger Spaceship. We studied Anne Frank, Helen Keller, and people like Betsy Ross who I’m pretty sure I did a book report on. That’s when I started to learn about women’s history month.
Women who Inspired Me
My mother always encouraged me to strive to work hard and do what’s right. Also, my previous manager Debbie Key was a constant encouragement who always taught me by giving good feedback to help me grow.
My Advice to Women working in Public Service
Always take the opportunity to grow and improve yourself. That’s how you make yourself more valuable. The more you learn the more you can move along in your career path.
Possible Barriers Women May Face In My Field
I was a single mom so I had lots of challenges I had to face along the way. I will say I was fortunate to work with a really good group of guys that are pretty inclusive. I’ve worked with several that encouraged me knowing I was a single mom. Sometimes it is a challenge in a male dominated field with vendors, because there are people who think that a female doesn’t know anything about fixing cars. But, there’s more to doing my job than knowing how to fix hydraulics, like knowing the administrative side. At the end of the day I just want to be treated fairly and luckily that hasn’t been a problem here in Gastonia. My guys don’t treat me any differently.