Editor's Note: Celebrating Our Strength

Everyone has a story. As a first-generation American, I have such a rich heritage when I think back to the stories my parents told me of the challenges and struggles that brought us together as a family. My dad would talk about his experiences as a child in Europe during World War II, his family looking to escape both the Nazis and the Soviets. He’d reminisce about the five years his family spent in displaced person camps in Germany until they were finally sponsored to come to New York. Even then, it was a struggle to fit in and find their place. They ended up living in various places across the city and boroughs, and he could recall growing up in Hell’s Kitchen, dealing with the various gangs, and his happy experiences living across the street from the Bronx Zoo, which he visited often.

It was those kinds of stories that drew me into journalism in the first place. It was always interesting to see how time, trials, challenges, and successes molded and shaped the people I saw around me.

In the course of my career so far as a journalist, I’ve had the opportunity to interview and talk to hundreds of people. Sometimes those conversations go as expected; a simple interview on a topic and then we part ways. Other times, I’ve been blessed to really get to know my interview subject, learning about their past experiences and how those experiences shaped the person I saw that day.
During the month of March, we featured a special podcast series celebrating women in the printing industry as part of Women’s History Month. I had the opportunity to speak with nearly 20 women from across the country, from all walks of life, in distinctive companies, with different backgrounds, holding various positions from the C-Suite on down, some with decades of experience, while others were just starting out.

Every conversation was unique. I may have asked similar questions during these interviews, but time and time again these women delighted and inspired me, providing thoughtful, honest, and in some cases, personal and revealing answers. To hear how these women rose above the challenges they faced throughout their career — because of their gender — and celebrate their triumphs, simply emphasized how important women are to the workforce.
While many of the challenges we discussed happened in the past, women today are still facing many of the same issues: Can I have a career and a family? How do I balance work and home life without feeling guilty? How can I break through the “glass ceiling”? How do I ensure pay equity? How do I hold my own in a boardroom — or pressroom — full of men?

I hope you can spend some time listening to and learning from the self-confident and self-assured women I had the opportunity to speak with during March. (You can find all the podcasts here).

Do you have a story you’d like to share with me? I’m ready to have another great conversation. Are you?