Thursday Jun 23, 2022

Ep. 49 - Pay It Forward

I had a 2nd-grade teacher, Mrs. Duffy, who I thought didn’t like me very much. She would always call on me in class even though I was INCREDIBLY shy, tell me to pay attention when she noticed me daydreaming, and I would get extra work when no one else in my class did. So, I was really nervous when my mom and I sat in front of her at my parent-teacher conference (I don’t know if they still call them those). I fully expected Mrs. Duffy to tell my mom what a bad student I was, but the opposite happened. With a smile and hint of joy that I did not know Mrs. Duffy possessed, shared that I was an absolute joy to have in her class and how well I was doing. So well, in fact, that she recommended my mom consider moving me up a grade after Christmas break. Although I didn’t end up moving up to the 3rd grade (I didn’t find out that this was an option for me till years later, but would have preferred to have moved up tbh), Mrs. Duffy continued to invest in my development. She provided me with books my peers didn’t get, spent extra time with me to ensure I understood the higher level of material she had begun to give me and provided additional resources for my mom so I could do them at home.

I have been thinking about Mrs. Duffy, along with many others in my life, who have mentored and sponsored my educational journey, as well as my career and the impact is obvious. I can say without a doubt that I would not be who I am or be where I am without them and their influence; I recognize the privilege I have because of this. Sponsors and mentors advocate for you, provide you with additional resources and insight and grant you access to opportunities you otherwise would not have had.

Although I have had some great mentors and sponsors, I have also been on the other side of the spectrum. It is a long, difficult and lonely journey to navigate and figure out the intricacies of education and career on your own. My guest this week knows this feeling well, also. Sherylle Francis is an attorney, founder, and owner of Sherylle Francis, P.A. She is also among an extremely small minority of Black, Female, lawyers in the US (less than 4%, to be exact).

Sherylle and I spend some time talking about her career in law, pipeline issues within the legal profession, and what is to gain in having more diversity within the legal profession. Her pitch for folks considering the legal field: “Do it because we need you!”

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Production & Contact Details:

Producer: Jonathan Dumas (@rtwdpodcast)

Production help: Lindsay Dumas (@lindsaymariedumas)

Additional editing support: (Bijoy Ahmed)