[00:00:04.120] - [Amanda] Sarah, I've just started the recording of the session. [00:00:10.200] Thank you Amanda. [00:00:11.880] All right. I suppose we could get started [00:00:16.960] Did Sara get her video and microphone going? [00:00:19.880] - [Sarah] Let me see. [00:00:25.480] - [Sarah] It doesn't look like it. [00:00:29.960] - [Dr. Reese] Oh, there she is. [00:00:44.840] Hopefully now she'll [00:00:47.480] be able to access her microphone and camera. [00:00:50.957] [microphone feedback] [00:01:11.160] Hi, Sara! [00:01:12.586] - [Dorothy] Look at you! [00:01:15.160] [microphone feedback] [00:01:18.029] [?] [00:01:15.160] [microphone feedback] [00:01:25.400] - [Guest] There we go. Try it now. [00:01:29.000] It's fine to go ahead and proceed without my [00:01:36.280] photograph. [laughs] [00:01:40.320] We see you. [00:01:42.320] - [Guest] Ok, that's good. [00:01:44.640] - [Sara] Ok, that's good. [00:01:46.640] - [Sara] Hello, it's good to see everyone. [00:01:49.440] - [Dr. Brannon] Hi there. - [Sarah] How are you? [00:01:53.880] I'll go ahead and mute everybody for the moment and we'll get started. [00:01:58.240] Time's going to get away from me. If anyone has any questions at any time. [00:02:02.680] Amanda, she's awesome. [00:02:04.920] You're helping me. [00:02:05.440] She's going to be monitoring the chat so you can feel free to either raise your hand or [00:02:10.680] put any questions you have in there any time. [00:02:14.480] And thank you to my husband for getting my children out of the way. [00:02:17.160] So hopefully it'll actually be quiet. [00:02:20.960] And I started the recording, or Amanda did. Somebody did. [00:02:24.840] Welcome and thank everybody for joining us today for this discussion. [00:02:29.360] We're here to feature and celebrate some local women in leadership in Iredell County. [00:02:34.760] This program is made possible by Mitchell [00:02:37.240] Community College Libraries and by grant funds from the Institute of Museum [00:02:40.920] and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services [00:02:43.960] and Technology Act as administered by the State Library [00:02:46.920] of North Carolina, a division of the [00:02:48.640] North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. [00:02:52.560] OK, now we've given them credit. [00:02:54.920] Thank you to them. [00:02:56.840] This session, like we said, is being recorded and we plan to preserve [00:02:59.880] it both within the college and within the North Carolina Digital Heritage Center [00:03:05.880] or DigitalNC.org which is a great resource. [00:03:09.120] They have digitized copies of all of [00:03:11.000] Mitchell Community College's yearbooks and photos and all kinds of great stuff. [00:03:15.520] So I would encourage you to check them out. [00:03:19.960] And we will share a link to the recording after the event. [00:03:25.000] Most of you know me [00:03:26.000] and my name is on there, [00:03:27.657] but my name is Sarah Sowa and I'm a part-time [00:03:29.880] librarian at the Mooresville Campus of Mitchell Community College. [00:03:33.480] Amanda Ray, the college's director of educational partnerships, [00:03:37.080] is here monitoring the chat, like I said, and helping out. [00:03:41.080] Crystal Dagenhardt with distance learning, who also helped a lot [00:03:44.120] setting this up, is here to kind of field [00:03:47.240] any technical issues that we may have which, knock on wood, hopefully we won't. [00:03:54.320] During the last few minutes of the session after we have time to ask our [00:03:57.600] panelists some questions, hopefully we can open up [00:04:01.920] some time to the audience to ask questions of their own. [00:04:06.440] We're going to do our best to answer as many audience questions as possible. [00:04:09.520] And again, Amanda's going to help with that. [00:04:11.840] This panel was originally supposed to be [00:04:13.400] held as a live event in March, which is Women's History Month, [00:04:17.120] but since the pandemic has turned everything upside down [00:04:20.240] we had to move it online. [00:04:21.786] Instead of celebrating [00:04:22.880] Women's History Month, as you may have seen of that lovely [00:04:26.400] graphic that [?] created for us in printing and graphics [00:04:29.357] we're now bringing attention [00:04:30.280] to Women's Equality Day which is on August 26th. [00:04:34.760] Amanda, if you have the information I sent you, if you want to paste— [00:04:38.000] we have the link to more information about Women's Equality Day. [00:04:41.640] It's pretty interesting the background on that. [00:04:44.200] I would encourage you to look into it. [00:04:47.040] Today, we're going to talk to four accomplished local women, as I said. [00:04:50.680] We've got Dr. Porter Brannon, [00:04:52.720] Dr. Camille Reese, [00:04:55.120] Sara Haire Tice, [00:04:55.920] and Dorothy Phifer Woodard with us. [00:04:58.800] These panelists have generously agreed [00:05:00.360] to share their time and wisdom with us today and we really appreciate that. [00:05:05.040] Before we begin our question and answer session [00:05:07.800] I'd like to briefly introduce our panelists [00:05:11.080] and I want to stress the briefly part [00:05:13.440] because we don't have time for me to go into everything that they've done. [00:05:21.560] First we have Dr. Porter Brannon. [00:05:23.440] She's the vice president for student services at Mitchell Community College. [00:05:27.320] She's originally from Brooklyn, New York and currently lives in Mooresville. [00:05:31.360] Prior to her appointment at Mitchell Community College, [00:05:33.400] Dr. Brannon spent nearly two decades serving [00:05:35.480] higher education institutions in New York City [00:05:38.120] chiefly in student focused administrative roles including assistant vice president [00:05:42.280] for academic affairs, assistant dean for student affairs, [00:05:45.720] registrar, director of advising, and an information technology specialist. [00:05:51.840] For fun, Dr. Brannon [00:05:52.880] enjoys traveling the world with the goal of visiting every continent. [00:05:56.040] She also enjoys dancing and attempting escape rooms with her family. [00:05:59.680] That's awesome. I like those too. [00:06:01.560] As a child she admired Lynda Carter as Wonder Woman. [00:06:04.200] Wonder Woman made it acceptable for women to be intelligent, beautiful, and powerful. [00:06:08.400] Dr. Brannon earned a Doctorate of Education in Executive Leadership, [00:06:11.560] Administration, and Policy from Fordham University. [00:06:14.680] She has an M.S. in Education and a B.S. in Human Services [00:06:17.914] from St. John's University. [00:06:19.560] She is a Community College Presidential [00:06:21.160] Fellow with the Aspen Institute for Community College Excellence. [00:06:24.960] Thank you, Dr. Brannon. [00:06:28.200] Dr. Camille Reese has over twenty-five years of higher education experience. [00:06:31.400] She currently serves as the vice president for instruction and chief academic officer [00:06:35.160] at Mitchell Community College in Statesville. [00:06:37.560] She's been employed at Mitchell Community College since 2003. [00:06:40.960] She previously served the college as [00:06:42.640] the dean for nursing, health sciences, and public service technologies. [00:06:46.840] After working as a registered nurse, [00:06:48.480] she began her career in education as associate director of nursing [00:06:51.520] at Northwest Area Health Education Center and then as an assistant professor [00:06:55.320] of nursing at Winston-Salem State University. [00:07:00.120] Dr. Reese earned a Doctorate in Educational Leadership and a [00:07:02.520] Master's in Nursing Education from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, [00:07:06.200] a Bachelor of Science in Nursing [00:07:07.600] from Winston-Salem University, and a diploma in Practical Nurse [00:07:10.840] Education from Forsyth Technical Community College. [00:07:14.760] As a child, Dr. Reese's paternal grandmother, Grandma Rose, [00:07:19.040] was the person who had the single most important impact on her life. [00:07:22.360] Her grandma shared her gift of humor [00:07:23.840] and the importance of always looking for the best in others. [00:07:26.680] She shared her love of cooking, baking, [00:07:28.240] canning, and preserving, and all things domestic with her granddaughter. [00:07:32.360] Dr. Reese thinks of her grandmother daily and is so thankful for the blessing [00:07:35.080] of the time and attention that she showered on her. [00:07:38.240] Dr. Reese tries to balance her work and personal interests. [00:07:40.560] Her hobbies are reading and keeping bees. Also awesome. [00:07:43.120] She has two hives and loves to watch and learn life lessons from the bees. [00:07:48.080] Dr. Reese has two grown children [00:07:49.520] and two grandchildren who hold the key to her heart. [00:07:52.840] Thank you, Dr. Reese. [00:07:56.120] Sara Knox Haire Tice. [00:07:58.720] A Mitchell Community College Board of Trustees member, [00:08:00.840] Sara Haire Tice has been called "Mooresville's Godmother" [00:08:03.840] and is the eponymous woman behind [00:08:05.520] the prestigious Sara Haire Tice Women in Leadership Award. [00:08:08.880] Born in 1934 in Mount Mourn, North Carolina, [00:08:11.520] she grew up on her family's cotton and corn farm [00:08:14.000] that eventually became the man made body of water known as Lake Norman. [00:08:18.440] Mrs. Tice began her career by succeeding as an insurance agent while also raising her family [00:08:22.640] and serving as an active member of the Fairview United Methodist Church. [00:08:26.800] She served on the Iredell County Board of Trustees for eighteen years. [00:08:30.440] She was elected vice chairman in 1991 [00:08:33.160] and became the first female chairman of the board in 1992. [00:08:37.160] [Sara Haire Knox Tice] [00:08:44.560] I am so sorry, Sara. Oh my goodness. [00:08:47.000] Is a community and civic minded individual who's been a key member [00:08:50.280] on numerous clubs and organizations which are way too numerous to name here, [00:08:55.440] but which include the Carolinas Association [00:08:57.520] of Professional Insurance Agents; the Mooresville Downtown Commission; [00:09:01.360] the Mooresville South Iredell Chamber of Commerce, [00:09:04.160] of [which] she was the first female president and held other office positions; [00:09:07.160] the Mooresville South Iredell United Way; the Mooresville Kiwanis Club; [00:09:11.480] Mooreville Business and Professional Women's Club; [00:09:13.040] the South Iredell Republican Women; and Mooresville Crimestoppers. [00:09:18.840] She served on countless boards and committees representing both [00:09:21.640] Iredell County and her insurance professions [00:09:23.560] such as the Board of Health, [00:09:25.143] Carolina's Partnership, [00:09:26.520] Central [?] Council of Governments, the Greater Statesville Development Corporation, [00:09:30.640] the Economic Development Task Force, [00:09:32.720] Iredell County Community Foundation Board of Trustees, [00:09:35.440] Local Emergency Planning Committee, Lake Norman Rural Planning Organization, [00:09:40.040] Mooresville South Iredell Economic Development Board, [00:09:43.040] Partnership for Young Children, Rural Transportation Advisory Committee, [00:09:47.320] South Iredell Community Development Corporation, [00:09:49.000] the Tri-County Mental Health Board, and Vision Strategic Planning Committee. [00:09:54.800] She's also amassed many coveted honors, distinctions, and awards such as the [00:09:58.240] Order of the Longleaf Pine, Outstanding 1988 Citizen of the Year [00:10:01.960] by the Mooresville South Iredell Chamber of Commerce, [00:10:04.400] a Local Government Leadership Award from the North Carolina Manufactured [00:10:07.480] Housing Institute, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Iredell County Republican Party. [00:10:12.200] Along with recognitions from the American Cancer Society, [00:10:15.640] Mooresville South Iredell Chamber of Commerce, the Iredell County Association [00:10:18.640] for the Mentally Ill, and the Tri-County Mental Health Board of Directors. [00:10:21.960] She is well known for her positive outlook on life, [00:10:24.560] her genuine desire to help others, and her keen sense of humor. [00:10:29.400] The woman she most admired growing up was her mother, Georgia Knox. She was a strong, [00:10:33.280] caring person who never gave up, including her long battle with cancer. [00:10:37.360] She was known in her community as the lady that shared her vegetables with her [00:10:41.760] older neighbors and was always willing to help in any way she could. [00:10:45.280] Her husband once said, "I know you were assertive when I married you." [00:10:49.520] Sounds like it. [00:10:51.600] Thank you. [00:10:55.200] Ask anyone in the Iredell-Statesville Schools who has worked for Dorothy Woodard in her [00:10:59.160] capacity as a mentor as part of the System Wide Assistance Team [00:11:03.000] or as an interim assistant principal or principal [00:11:05.440] and they will tell you that no one [00:11:06.800] possesses a stronger work ethic nor a greater passion for public education. [00:11:11.000] As a graduate of Unity High School [00:11:12.400] in Statesville, both Dorothy pursued her higher education dreams at [00:11:15.240] Livingstone College, [00:11:16.680] where she received a Bachelor of Science; Temple University, [00:11:19.960] where she got her Master's in Education; [00:11:22.071] and UNC Charlotte, where she received [00:11:26.080] a degree as an education specialist. [00:11:27.960] She spent five decades teaching students [00:11:30.640] and served as both an assistant principal and principal during her career as an educator. [00:11:35.520] Dorothy is just as passionate about [00:11:36.880] volunteering to make our community a better place. [00:11:39.360] She has worked with many organizations [audio skip] [00:11:43.040] Hospice of Iredell, Foundation for the Carolinas, Relay for Life, [00:11:46.760] Komen Race for the Cure, Crosby Scholars, NAACP, Divas Fighting Like Girls, [00:11:52.360] College Board of Trustees, and church. [00:11:54.760] She is president of the local AARP chapter [00:11:57.360] and embodies the criteria of a lifelong legacy of service to our community. [00:12:02.000] She loves to travel and has been fortunate [00:12:03.800] enough to travel to forty-four states, Germany, France, London, China, [00:12:07.800] South Africa, and several Caribbean islands. [00:12:10.880] That's amazing. I wish I could say that. Maybe someday. [00:12:14.880] Dorothy most looked up to her loving [00:12:16.320] maternal grandmother who raised her as a child. [00:12:19.080] Her grandmother was a woman who had only a third grade education [00:12:22.160] but who worked hard with her hands and was always willing to help anyone. [00:12:26.040] She had wisdom and knew how to stretch her [00:12:27.800] knowledge beyond intellectual pursuits and that's what made her so special. [00:12:32.040] Thank you, Dorothy. [00:12:37.000] Without further ado. [00:12:40.880] Hope everybody's doing all right. [00:12:43.320] We'll go ahead and move on to asking these ladies a few questions. [00:12:47.200] And like I said, at the end hopefully we'll have some time, [00:12:50.160] at least a few minutes, for everyone here to try to ask their own questions. [00:12:55.520] And Amanda's going to help us with that. [00:13:00.400] So if we want to just go in the order that I introduced you all— [00:13:04.120] Dr. Brannon, Dr. Reese, Sara, and Dorothy. [00:13:07.520] If you'd each like to answer [00:13:08.920] each of the questions I think we'll have time. [00:13:12.040] Does that sound OK? OK. [00:13:14.240] Sure. [00:13:15.440] - [Sarah] And if we start to get a little short of time, I may [00:13:18.440] jump ahead a couple of questions, but I would love to ask you of these if we have time. [00:13:24.560] We'll start with Dr. Brannon. [00:13:26.160] Did you always have a vision of where your [00:13:28.120] career would lead to, and if so, did your vision become your reality? [00:13:36.000] No. I like to tell folks that I'm still [00:13:38.600] trying to figure out what I'm going to do when I grow up. [00:13:43.000] But I think that speaks to when you're an educator you're always looking [00:13:46.200] to learn more and you're always inquisitive. [00:13:48.360] So I don't believe I've figured it out yet. [00:13:51.600] I did always know though, since I was five, [00:13:54.480] I always knew I wanted to help people [00:13:57.840] and there's so many different ways to help people. [00:14:01.800] [?] I narrowed it down to education until about ten years ago. [00:14:04.640] But I was very compassionate, [00:14:06.560] I always wanted to help others in any way that I could. [00:14:11.640] You mentioned being an information technology specialist [00:14:14.160] so that's helping people solve problems [00:14:15.880] using technology, or work I've done in food pantries, or educating incarcerated youth. [00:14:22.680] But helping people was always the vision that I knew I'd dedicate my life to. [00:14:27.720] I think I figured out education was [00:14:29.960] the avenue I wanted to take when I was about thirty years old [00:14:33.720] and so since then I've just stayed on the pursuit of using [00:14:37.680] education as the tool that I choose to help others. [00:14:44.000] Thank you. All right, Dr. Reese. [00:14:50.000] Well, good afternoon. I would say that I really didn't have a vision for where [00:14:56.040] my career would go until I got into nursing. [00:15:00.040] Once I started working as a nurse [00:15:02.440] I really enjoyed working with the new nurses who would come on the unit [00:15:05.960] and so I started to serve as what they call a preceptor. [00:15:10.960] And that kind of led me to want to seek out more educational opportunities. [00:15:15.440] And so I started working [00:15:16.880] part-time at Forsyth Tech as a clinical instructor and I really enjoyed doing that. [00:15:21.880] The more I got into that, the more I liked it. [00:15:25.240] Then I started looking into moving [00:15:26.680] into education, nursing education specifically, full-time [00:15:29.480] because at that point I had one small child. [00:15:34.960] I just thought it would be a really [00:15:36.160] good fit for me because my kids have always been my priority. [00:15:41.280] So it would give me the opportunity [00:15:42.520] to do something that I love but also have summers off with my kids. [00:15:47.920] So when I moved into education full-time [00:15:50.400] it gave me the opportunity to have summers off with my kids and the three of us were [00:15:53.760] able to go on lots of adventures together and [00:15:56.520] make a lot of really good memories. [00:15:58.120] So it's been something that certainly has [00:16:00.400] served me well but I've also enjoyed it my whole career. [00:16:07.520] Thank you. I can identify with [00:16:10.520] enjoying having some flexibility to spend time with your kids. [00:16:13.680] Definitely. [00:16:15.480] All right, Sara. [00:16:33.680] Sara if you're ready you can go ahead. [00:16:45.120] She will need to unmute her mic. [00:16:46.320] I had to unmute mine so you might want to tell her [00:16:49.920] to do that. [00:17:00.160] And we may have lost one of her connections. [00:17:02.160] I just noticed in the moderator list she was listed twice. [00:17:04.920] I think one for video and audio and one of them has disappeared. [00:17:08.920] Yeah, I think the number two was the better [00:17:13.320] - [Sarah] connection though so I'm not sure. [00:17:15.320] Dorothy, if you'd like to go ahead you can. [00:17:18.840] Ok. Good afternoon, everyone. [00:17:21.320] Sarah has already told you how [00:17:24.080] my grandma worked so hard as I was a child growing up, [00:17:29.080] and I watched her work. [00:17:32.480] And early on I think I decided that I didn't want to work that hard. [00:17:36.280] And so, I made up my mind early that I wanted to go to college [00:17:41.520] although I didn't have any idea as to what [00:17:45.080] it was that I wanted to do when I got to college. [00:17:49.800] In the olden days when I was there [00:17:53.600] the choices were really slim for minority people. [00:17:57.760] So I knew that I could be a nurse or a teacher [00:18:02.280] and nursing was not it. [00:18:04.560] Sorry Dr. Reese, but [laughs] [00:18:04.560] I couldn't. [00:18:07.600] I knew I couldn't do that. [00:18:09.880] My grandma liked uniforms, to see people wearing a uniform [00:18:13.920] so she really wanted me to be a nurse [00:18:15.920] but it was like, "No, mama. I cannot do that." [00:18:19.720] So I chose the field of education. [00:18:25.840] Once I graduated from college I really, really loved being a teacher. [00:18:30.960] I had no aspirations beyond necessarily [00:18:34.720] being a principal or assistant principal or anything like that until one year [00:18:42.120] I went back to school and I saw who our assistant principal was. [00:18:48.720] I knew that person, [00:18:50.000] I had worked with them as a classroom teacher and I thought, "Hmm, [00:18:56.160] I could be a better assistant principal than that person." [00:19:01.000] And so that's when I immediately called UNC [00:19:05.760] and said, "What do I have to do to get enrolled?" [00:19:09.560] The deadline had already passed for that semester [00:19:12.440] but [00:19:14.000] next semester I enrolled and started studying to be a principal. [00:19:21.040] Once I set my mind on it I did, that dream did become a reality. [00:19:27.520] I really enjoyed being a teacher for twenty-four years or so [00:19:33.120] but I also enjoyed being a principal. [00:19:36.160] And I think part of that was that early on when [00:19:39.960] I was in elementary school [00:19:42.120] we had combination classes and in those days the principal was also a teacher. [00:19:48.640] So when the principal had to go to meetings [00:19:51.000] he would put me in charge of our seventh-eighth grade class and I loved it. [00:19:56.400] I loved being in charge [00:19:58.720] so I think that's part of the reason that I enjoy being a principal so much. [00:20:07.360] Thank you. [00:20:08.171] - [Sarah] I wonder if Sara has gotten her— [00:20:15.200] Sara, are you able to unmute your microphone? [00:20:20.800] We want to hear from you if you can. [00:20:23.720] Usually it's me who struggles, [00:20:26.200] that computers seem to hate, so surprising it's going smoothly on my end. [00:20:34.280] Well, we'll keep going and hopefully we can come back to Sara. [00:20:37.280] Crystal, if you can think of anything that [00:20:43.240] might be of help to her that would be great. [00:20:45.320] Sarah, this is Crystal. [00:20:47.720] If you can hear me—at the bottom of the screen, the little screen, [00:20:50.320] you have an icon with yourself and to the right of the icon [00:20:53.720] you have a microphone that may have a line through it. [00:20:56.800] If you can click that to unmute your audio. [00:21:03.080] There you go. There we go. [00:21:03.840] - [Sara] Oh, great. [00:21:07.240] - [Sarah] Awesome. Thank you, Crystal. [00:21:10.600] Sara, so basically [00:21:12.800] we're talking about did you have a vision originally for where your career would go, [00:21:18.160] and if so, did you follow that vision? [00:21:22.160] Well, not necessarily. [00:21:26.040] I thought I wanted to be a nurse a long time until I got through school [00:21:30.960] and I went to work for Westbrook Insurance Agency [00:21:35.120] in Charlotte, [00:21:35.280] where I worked for five years. [00:21:39.800] And had a really good job there, [00:21:43.000] but then my son was born and I did not want to travel that far away from him [00:21:48.280] so I came to work for the [?] Insurance Agency in Mooresville. [00:21:53.900] There I worked [00:21:59.000] and bought into the agency [00:22:01.120] and it became [?]-Haire Insurance. [00:22:03.560] And I worked there for twenty-five years, I guess, before I retired. [00:22:13.200] All the time [00:22:14.840] I was involved in [00:22:17.880] just about everything that was going on in South Iredell— [00:22:21.057] all the clubs [00:22:23.280] and the different downtown issues that we were involved in. [00:22:33.000] So, early on I started [00:22:37.680] becoming involved in [00:22:41.200] the [00:22:43.320] Women's Movement and [00:22:47.240] the downtown commission. [00:22:54.720] And then from there [00:22:58.200] I got interested or I was asked to run for county commissioner. [00:23:06.760] I was a county commissioner I guess for eighteen years. [00:23:12.760] That was a position that I really [00:23:16.120] enjoyed because I could reach out and touch so many different people [00:23:24.920] and I felt like I could help a lot of people with my position. [00:23:30.120] Then [00:23:31.640] I worked with a very nice board [00:23:34.320] and served as chairman of the board for a long time. [00:23:40.640] At the time, and I guess still, [00:23:43.280] I'm the only woman that's ever served as [00:23:48.720] Chairman of Iredell County Board of Commissioners. [00:23:48.920] That position I held for twelve years [00:23:52.960] and it was a lot of fun. [00:23:57.400] I think we made a lot of progress. [00:24:02.360] It was [00:24:04.080] a job that I really enjoyed. [00:24:10.240] Thank you. [00:24:16.960] So we'll start back with Dr. Brannon. [00:24:17.020] What do you consider the greatest accomplishment of your career so far? [00:24:23.840] I'm hoping the greatest accomplishment is [00:24:25.880] yet to come, but I love working with people. [00:24:32.160] I think [00:24:34.760] proving to people that really anything is possible. [00:24:41.040] There's so many places, [00:24:43.920] professionally speaking where I've worked, where folks have become conditioned [00:24:49.120] to believing that they've accomplished all they can [00:24:52.240] or that somehow their abilites are limited by a set of circumstances. [00:24:58.960] Like many of us probably got told by our parents [00:25:01.560] you could be anything you want to be or you can do anything you want to do, [00:25:05.080] and I absolutely always believed that. [00:25:07.400] I never thought that there was anything I [00:25:09.160] couldn't get done with hard work and maybe some ingenuity. [00:25:12.760] And so one of the things I love [00:25:14.560] is when I enter a space where people feel confined or limited [00:25:19.560] based on a certain set [00:25:20.560] of circumstances and then they immediately resist [00:25:23.800] everything I say because it must be impossible because it hasn't been done before. [00:25:27.760] And then what I love the most is a year later [00:25:30.880] when people are like, "How did we do that for that long?" [00:25:35.000] And I get an education. [00:25:36.320] I get to have that experience like every year, [00:25:38.920] something like that gets to happen. [00:25:40.800] And cause I really do think as an educator we live in a world of what's possible. [00:25:47.200] This little thing here, this little thing was not possible when I was a child. [00:25:51.920] This was science fiction. [00:25:54.520] [?] common and there were probably people [?] science fiction. [00:26:00.280] For me, the greatest accomplishment is always helping people debunk what [00:26:04.880] they've already begun to accept as limitation put in place by whatever. [00:26:09.640] And it could be societal, [00:26:11.160] it could be gender, but it's debunking those [00:26:15.800] sort of like self-sustained limitations and just showing folks what's possible [00:26:21.120] just with a shifting in the mindset. [00:26:25.000] Because then that causes other great [00:26:27.000] things happen that don't have to do with me. [00:26:29.440] But people will take on [00:26:32.080] the incredible when they believe that that is possible. [00:26:35.440] And so for me that's my biggest accomplishment is just [00:26:38.080] being able to help people realize that they are capable of so much [00:26:42.280] more than they thought or what was possibly told to them. [00:26:49.000] Thank you so much. Dr. Reese. [00:26:53.520] I would say, I thought about this a lot [00:26:56.440] and when you start to think about [00:26:58.080] greatest accomplishments it's like, is that supposed to be a thing? [00:27:01.560] What is it? [00:27:03.880] There's a lot of projects that I've worked on, there's a lot of things [00:27:06.080] that I've developed over the course of my career, [00:27:07.880] but honestly, I believe that the greatest accomplishment has been making [00:27:11.640] a difference in the lives of people that I've worked with. [00:27:15.320] I think about, for me, before I got into education and I worked as a nurse [00:27:19.920] and the impact that I had on families as I cared for their sick children because [00:27:25.200] most of my full-time nursing career was either [00:27:27.640] in the NICU, neonatal ICU or the PICU, pediatric ICU. [00:27:33.120] You spend so much time [00:27:34.600] with those children, more so than the parents do, [00:27:37.960] and you do form a bond. [00:27:39.400] And I mean you love those kids [00:27:41.080] and you take care of those kids like they were your own. [00:27:44.080] Just to know the impact that you have on them. [00:27:46.000] I mean one of the examples I was thinking about was [00:27:48.160] I still have a mom whose baby I took care of for about fifteen or sixteen months. [00:27:55.600] It was a little baby that was born [?]. [00:27:59.080] Her name was Jennifer Hodges. [00:28:01.240] Jennifer died in 1984 [00:28:03.320] and I still get a card from her mom every single year [00:28:07.480] because of the bond that we established with each other and the impact that I [00:28:11.640] made on Jennifer's life and then just with her mom. [00:28:16.360] Then as I moved in education it's like all the students [00:28:19.080] that you work with, who you feel like you advocate for and you help. [00:28:24.520] I just feel like that has been the accomplishment in my career [00:28:29.240] in education, just the impact that you have when you help a student to realize [00:28:33.400] their potential and you help them to realize their dream so that they can [00:28:37.280] leave and earn a living wage for their family and provide for their family. [00:28:43.040] That's something that nobody can can take away from them. [00:28:47.920] Then I would also say that [00:28:49.560] another accomplishment for me is that I've learned a lot about myself. [00:28:54.160] Every degree I've gotten, [00:28:55.600] every job I've gotten, I've learned more about me. [00:29:00.880] I just feel like [00:29:01.080] as I've grown in my career I've grown as a person [00:29:04.240] and I believe that I'm serving [00:29:05.960] my purpose, the reason that God put me on this earth. [00:29:10.480] That is my answer for that question. [00:29:14.520] That is a great answer. Thank you. [00:29:17.920] All right. Sara. [00:29:20.160] Well, [00:29:21.880] I guess my biggest accomplishment was [00:29:27.480] to get elected to the Iredell County Board of Commissioners. [00:29:31.720] It had been twelve years since anyone [00:29:34.120] from South Iredell had been elected to the board. [00:29:38.400] So the folks in South Iredell said, [00:29:41.080] "If you will run, we'll raise the money and we'll get you elected." [00:29:46.720] They didq [00:29:47.520] but they didn't tell me what was going to happen after I got elected. [00:29:50.080] [laughs] [00:29:54.680] It's really a big job for the five board members. [00:30:00.440] It's an experience that [00:30:04.560] I really enjoyed I guess by the fact that I stayed for eighteen years [00:30:10.880] and twelve years as chairman of the board, which is almost a full-time job. [00:30:17.160] It was [00:30:19.520] very satisfying to me [00:30:22.560] and I could [00:30:25.520] help the schools or people in need or [00:30:31.640] any kind of situations that came to the county. [00:30:36.880] I was always involved in the decision. [00:30:40.480] I tried very hard to represent the total county and I think I did because [00:30:48.200] I was the top vote getter every time I ran except one. [00:30:55.160] I love the people in Iredell County. [00:30:59.400] I think it's a great place to live. [00:31:03.200] Some of the things that I worked on while I was there— [00:31:08.480] Meck Neck was at the south end of the county and it was [00:31:12.600] in Mecklenburg County, cut off from any services in Mecklenburg County. [00:31:20.800] I was able to work with Mecklenburg. [00:31:25.000] These people came to me [00:31:26.560] numerous times begging me to get them into our county. [00:31:31.880] I did have a lot of success there because I worked with the Charlotte Board [00:31:38.720] of Commissioners. [00:31:40.643] And finally we worked out a deal [00:31:44.200] for them to release Meck Neck into Iredell County. [00:31:53.960] We paid them a payment [00:31:54.480] I think for about twelve years, but [00:31:57.400] the taxes that Iredell County realized from the Meck Neck crowd [00:32:06.680] paid more than we were having to pay Mecklenburg County. [00:32:12.920] A lot of people that could never be done [00:32:15.480] but I didn't give up until we got it accomplished. [00:32:21.960] I always supported Mitchell College. [00:32:23.680] That was one of my pet concerns. [00:32:33.320] I asked the folks to [00:32:35.760] work with the Government Center South. [00:32:39.080] We had the old hospital building that had been there vacant for some time. [00:32:47.000] The people in South Iredell had to go to Statesville [00:32:50.520] for their legal work and that kind of thing. [00:32:53.760] So I talked the commissioners into buying [00:33:01.280] the Government Center South, the old hospital building, and remodeling it. [00:33:11.320] It has served us well. [00:33:13.920] We have many branches of the government located there now which [00:33:21.080] serves the people in South Iredell well because they don't have to drive to Statesville [00:33:27.640] for a different [00:33:31.120] businesses or whatever. [00:33:34.520] I guess I've always been [00:33:39.200] wanting to lead and to make [00:33:42.880] this place a better place to live. I worked [00:33:47.280] as you read, for a lot of the different boards [00:33:51.320] and commissions in South Iredell before I got elected. [00:33:55.280] And then I was thrilled to have [00:33:57.760] the opportunity to serve the whole county, especially as chairman of the board [00:34:03.280] and the only woman that's ever been chairman of the board. [00:34:09.560] It's been a very rewarding experience for me. [00:34:15.840] Thank you. [00:34:17.280] All right, Dorothy. [00:34:24.200] When I was selected to be the principal [00:34:28.640] it was in a very small school system. There were three elementary schools [00:34:33.800] and my particular school was the lowest performing school in the system. [00:34:42.520] I guess I think being able to lead a school from low [00:34:46.920] performing to accomplished was really something that was phenomenal for me. [00:34:55.160] We had to stay focused and try to teach the kids to read because [00:35:01.640] if you can't read, you can't do any of the other work. [00:35:05.000] And so we set out to— [00:35:08.600] that was our main goal was to teach kids to read. [00:35:15.800] The first hour of every day [00:35:17.040] was dedicated to reading, uninterrupted reading. [00:35:20.400] We enlisted everybody in the school to participate in that reading program. [00:35:26.640] That meant all of the teacher assistants, the bus drivers, [00:35:30.960] the custodian, everybody had a group. [00:35:34.960] We did use the scripted reading program [00:35:38.000] but it worked out very, [00:35:39.600] very well for us because at the end, I was principal there for eight years [00:35:47.240] and at the end of the eight years, guess what? [00:35:51.000] Our school was the highest performing in the system. [00:35:55.280] We were just so, so really pleased. [00:35:57.800] We adopted the theme [00:35:59.400] "I believe I can fly." [00:36:01.360] And honest to goodness, [00:36:02.960] our kids thought they could do anything because we created such a positive [00:36:07.680] environment, learning environment, for those students. [00:36:11.520] They worked really, really hard and they learned to read. [00:36:16.160] They excelled. [00:36:18.360] I was just really pleased with that. [00:36:21.360] The parents in the community were very supportive. [00:36:25.920] We had a PTA that was probably the strongest in the system. [00:36:32.080] Not only that, they say it takes a whole community to raise a child. [00:36:39.120] We had volunteers from the community. [00:36:41.600] One day after our test scores were [00:36:44.040] published in the newspaper a gentleman came in the office and said [00:36:48.200] to me, "I see your reading scores in the newspaper. [00:36:53.760] Would you like some help?" [00:36:55.560] And I said, "But of course, we would like all the help we can get." [00:36:59.640] Turns out this guy was a retiree from General Electric [00:37:04.560] and I think the Alphans is their retired society or something. [00:37:09.680] So he recruited some of the other men and women who had retired from GE. [00:37:16.560] They came to our school on a regular basis [00:37:19.520] and volunteered to help the kids learn to read. [00:37:24.480] It was total community involvement, school involvement. [00:37:28.600] Everybody worked toward the one common [00:37:31.200] goal of being able to teach our kids to read. [00:37:34.040] So for me, that was really a great [00:37:36.680] accomplishment just to to see those children be able to succeed. [00:37:42.960] When they went on to high school, they did very well and college as well. [00:37:49.320] For me, that would be my answer. [00:37:54.120] Awesome. Thank you. [00:37:56.520] So I'm going to mix things up a little bit. [00:38:02.680] I'm going to go through the next few [00:38:04.040] questions that I have and instead of everyone [00:38:07.360] answering each question I'll just go down the line, like we were in the same order, [00:38:11.520] but I'll just ask you each one individual [00:38:14.120] question so we can get through some more before we run out of time. [00:38:18.400] Amanda, have you had any questions in the chat yet? [00:38:23.800] - [Amanda] We haven't had any questions in the chat [00:38:25.480] yet, but if anyone has any questions please feel free to type them and we'll [00:38:28.600] get them to the panelists if we've got time. [00:38:31.560] - [Sarah] Thank you. [00:38:33.080] [no sound] [00:38:43.320] - [Dorothy] We can't hear. [00:38:48.000] - [Dr. Brannon] You're on mute, Sarah. [00:38:46.814] [laughs] [00:38:48.800] - [Sarah] I'll try again. OK, now can you hear me? [00:38:50.080] - [Dorothy] Yes. [00:38:51.120] OK, thanks for telling me. [00:38:56.040] Dr. Brannon, what is the biggest challenge, [00:38:58.640] I know it's hard to pick the most, the best, the one of all these, but that you can think [00:39:03.960] of from your career so far, and how did you handle that challenge? [00:39:14.320] This sounds so cliche, [00:39:16.000] I think, coming from women. [00:39:20.240] Work-life balance [00:39:23.040] was a challenge [00:39:24.760] and it remains a challenge. [00:39:28.000] I really don't like saying [00:39:29.680] that because I don't think that anyone expects men [00:39:36.440] to balance family and career [00:39:41.360] but there is an expectation that as women [00:39:43.840] somehow we still have to balance everything [00:39:47.200] including being great moms, great wives, and great professionals. [00:39:52.520] That's been a challenge for me [00:39:54.760] but not so much because I'm challenged with the balance. [00:40:00.280] I love what I do. [00:40:01.600] I absolutely love what I do [00:40:03.680] and I love being a mom and I love being a wife. [00:40:07.880] When I hear that phrase "work-life balance," I translate it as somehow [00:40:13.120] I have to give up part of one for the other [00:40:16.240] and I absolutely refuse to and I will not. [00:40:22.600] Part of the challenge then, [00:40:24.240] when I'm working late and someone will stop by and say, [00:40:28.280] "Go home! When is the last time your daughter saw you?" [00:40:30.760] I kind of want to say, "I love the fact that my daughter gets to see her [00:40:34.400] mom follow her dreams and have something she's passionate about [00:40:37.720] and I don't think it's a trade off." [00:40:41.120] That has been a challenge, is wanting to be wonder woman, [00:40:44.880] wanting to be the best mom and the best wife and the best professional [00:40:52.000] without burning the candle at both ends. [00:40:54.760] But I love what I do so much [00:40:58.600] I just refuse to give up any piece of it. [00:41:01.960] I always imagined that with age I'd slow down [00:41:05.160] but that has not happened yet. [00:41:08.000] And so we'll see. [00:41:09.040] I imagine biology may make me slow down [00:41:11.840] one way or the other but I'm still waiting for that to happen. [00:41:16.520] That is the greatest challenge, is [00:41:19.040] deciding what I'm going to give up because I love it all so much. [00:41:24.120] As of right now, I decided to just keep [?] [00:41:27.040] and we'll see when God's ready for me to settle down. [00:41:29.600] I figure that'll happen. [00:41:30.560] But that has been my greatest challenge, is finding a way to balance [00:41:35.160] the three things that I love which is my work, my child, and my marriage. [00:41:40.640] Thank you. [00:41:47.280] Dr. Reese, have you ever [had] a mentor, and how do you feel that either [00:41:51.480] having or not having a mentor has affected your career? [00:41:56.840] I tell you, I struggled with this question. [00:41:59.280] I had to think about it a lot. [00:42:01.160] I don't. [00:42:03.760] I never really had a formal mentor but I've had some really [00:42:08.480] terrible bosses and then I had one really good boss. [00:42:14.720] So when I moved into education [00:42:19.040] I had seen what it was like [00:42:21.240] to have really bad bosses [00:42:23.400] and what a miserable work environment they created. [00:42:28.160] So I promised myself that if I ever got an opportunity to serve [00:42:31.680] in a leadership role that I would choose to do exactly opposite what some [00:42:37.040] of these people had done [00:42:42.000] in that I would not follow those same pathways. [00:42:44.760] In fact, it impressed me so much [00:42:48.960] the tone that the leader sets [00:42:51.600] that when I went into my doctoral program I did my dissertation on leadership. [00:42:57.040] I actually based it, kind of the whole thing, was based on a case study of the very [00:43:02.600] worst leader I've ever had and the very best leader that I had ever had. [00:43:08.640] It was interesting that both of them were women. [00:43:13.640] My opinion has been, and what I have lived, is that sometimes [00:43:19.160] women, if they choose to take on more male [00:43:25.280] attributes of leadership, they tend to not be as good of a leader [00:43:29.800] because it's like they're not who they were meant to be. [00:43:34.080] And regardless of what people say, [00:43:36.640] there are certain things that make us women [00:43:40.400] and in my opinion, make us [00:43:42.640] better leaders because of those innate qualities that God has given us. [00:43:49.480] The one leader who was not a very effective nor particularly good leader [00:43:56.320] had very much taken on a lot of these male attributes [00:43:59.600] and it was it was not a good situation. [00:44:05.560] I really have tried to mirror my [00:44:08.440] leadership qualities on this one leader who just did such a great job. [00:44:12.640] She created a very empowering, [00:44:15.240] positive work environment and really saw the best in people. [00:44:19.720] One of the things that I learned from that is that you need to take care of people. [00:44:23.840] That's one thing that I've always [00:44:25.000] tried to do, is I try to take care of people the best way that I can. [00:44:30.360] I try to make them feel like they're empowered to be a part of the team. [00:44:35.200] It's interesting because [00:44:38.960] that's not always been the message that's been received. [00:44:47.880] As I was looking at the questions [00:44:49.200] and stuff, one of the questions you'd ask is about the biggest challenge. [00:44:57.520] The challenge of being able to lead people is really being able to [00:45:04.800] sort of innately understand what it is they want and appreciate [00:45:11.640] and remember that their perception is their reality [00:45:16.680] and it may not necessarily be [00:45:21.560] the message that you're trying to send. [00:45:25.960] Just learning that lesson. [00:45:27.240] I believe that helping people to feel like they're empowered and giving [00:45:31.120] them the tools that they need to do their job is important. [00:45:34.600] Dr. Eason, he was clearly a man, I think, in my opinion, was a great man [00:45:40.640] and he taught me a lot. [00:45:43.240] He and I had a lot of conversations [00:45:44.920] and I will forever be grateful to him for what he taught me. [00:45:49.400] Sometimes I would have [00:45:50.200] a conversation with him and I would tell him [00:45:54.280] I didn't always appreciate the conversations that we had because [00:45:57.000] sometimes it was him having that conversation with me where I needed to [00:46:03.520] have a little bit of a, [00:46:07.560] "You need to look at things [00:46:08.560] from a different perspective" kind of conversation [00:46:10.680] but he could have those conversations with you and you grew from them. [00:46:17.720] Even after he retired [00:46:19.760] he would check in with me periodically and say, "How's it going?" [00:46:22.520] and I'd ask him a question. [00:46:23.560] I remember one day I said to him, [00:46:25.560] "Dr. Eason, why didn't you tell me that this was such a hard job?" After I'd moved into the VP role. [00:46:29.480] And he's like, "You never asked. [00:46:31.000] If you told me, I would have told you what a hard job it was." [00:46:29.480] - [Dorothy] [laughs] [00:46:34.160] Sometimes still, I'll go out into the lobby here [00:46:36.640] right outside my door, and I'll look at his picture that's [00:46:39.560] hanging on the wall and kind of have a mental conversation with him because [00:46:43.520] it's like he was such a great man and he always saw the good in everybody. [00:46:48.800] He was able to take all the information together, [00:46:52.280] process it, make a decision, and move forward. [00:46:55.840] I just think those are great attributes for for a leader to have [00:47:01.920] and he certainly served as an unofficial mentor for me. [00:47:06.400] I still call on him lots of times to think [00:47:09.640] about things that he did and how perhaps he would have done things differently. [00:47:14.240] I appreciate those life lessons from him. [00:47:21.440] Thank you. It makes me think you make a good [00:47:22.760] point about even the people who [00:47:26.840] maybe don't have the best influence [00:47:28.320] in your life, or on your life, on your career, can really teach you a lot. [00:47:33.840] I hear that a lot from people with their parents or family members. [00:47:36.880] I know multiple of you have cited women in your life who were big influences to you [00:47:43.520] as family members [00:47:44.920] and I think the same is true, people sometimes who don't have good role models even in their home, [00:47:50.080] it teaches them what they don't want to be like when they grow up [00:47:52.320] with their own kids or with the people around them. [00:47:55.080] That's a great point. [00:47:56.257] - [Sarah] All right, Sara. [00:48:00.360] Well, [00:48:00.960] I was a member of the Mooresville Business and Women's Club for a number of years. [00:48:08.400] Of course they gave me a lot [00:48:09.480] of information about standing your ground and promoting women. [00:48:20.880] I did quite a bit of that. [00:48:24.200] I was [00:48:25.880] probably the only lady on [00:48:29.520] North Main Street Mooresville that [00:48:33.240] all of the men treated me equally. [00:48:36.640] They [00:48:38.960] invited me to join their clubs. [00:48:45.000] - [Sara] I took a course in Charlotte "How to Win Friends and Influence People." [00:48:51.600] That helped me a lot because [00:48:54.600] I learned early on to be respectful to women and to the men. [00:49:02.880] So I just had a great relationship with the downtown commission. [00:49:09.080] I guess I was probably the only [00:49:11.520] one of the owners, women and owners, downtown, [00:49:15.200] but [00:49:16.680] they accepted me and treated me the same. [00:49:23.800] Then, [00:49:25.240] when they asked me to run for county commissioner [00:49:31.600] all of [00:49:33.000] the men and the women got together along [00:49:36.240] with folks in Statesville that worked to help me get elected the first time. [00:49:45.600] First time I ran I was top vote-getter and was top vote-getter every time I ran except one. [00:49:55.400] I always demanded respect from the men and I always respected them. [00:50:11.400] Our county commission board, [00:50:15.200] [?] most of the time [00:50:16.840] had three men and two women, or four men and one woman. [00:50:21.986] They always [00:50:29.640] reelected a new chairman every year and every year they would put me back in. [00:50:35.480] I guess I made my point, but [00:50:40.560] I stood my ground [00:50:43.880] and they knew I was a determined person [00:50:48.800] but certainly I respected their wishes and we worked through [00:50:53.280] a lot of problems and remained friends for a long time. [00:50:57.640] I still hear from some of the commissioners that I worked with. [00:51:04.960] I think that means a lot, [00:51:12.440] I shouldn't say a lot, but some women they come out with attitude, [00:51:19.520] "Well, you're not going to run over me. I know I'm a woman, but." [00:51:20.760] I never felt that way. I just felt like an equal. [00:51:29.120] They put me on the executive board of the bank, Lincoln Bank. [00:51:37.320] I was the only woman out of the twelve members of the board, but they respected me and [00:51:46.360] I was grateful for that. [00:51:47.840] So I guess I've been [00:51:54.840] a determined person for a long time [00:51:59.960] I've really enjoyed all the clubs and [00:52:04.720] businesses that I've worked with. [00:52:10.760] I'm very satisfied. [00:52:13.720] You seem pretty determined to me. [00:52:16.080] I think that's a fair statement. [00:52:17.043] - Sarah and Sara [laughs] [00:52:21.280] I would like to ask all of you this one last question. [00:52:24.520] And if anybody has any questions that they'd like to ask, [00:52:27.040] I know we're getting a little short on time [00:52:29.080] but throw them into the chat and we'll squeeze them in if we can. [00:52:32.720] I would really like to know, [00:52:34.560] and I'm sure other people would too. [00:52:39.280] Dorothy we can start with you. [00:52:40.520] What is one piece of advice, [00:52:41.960] if you had to pick one thing, that you would offer someone who is either [00:52:45.920] just getting started in their career or thinking about changing careers? [00:52:52.600] When I first started working in North Carolina as a teacher, [00:52:58.480] of course the pay was not that great, [00:53:01.000] but my principal said to me, [00:53:03.280] "You need to say twenty-five dollars out of every one of your paychecks [00:53:08.080] and by the time you retire, you'll have half a million dollars." [00:53:13.480] I couldn't understand that concept [00:53:15.760] with the amount of money that I was making at that time. [00:53:20.240] I had to pay all my bills and take care of my grandma, [00:53:23.640] and do things and I just could not conceive of that. [00:53:27.080] Now I realized that I should have listened to his advice. [00:53:31.000] So, two things that I would offer today is [00:53:34.600] that new grads should develop a budget because without careful planning [00:53:39.400] it's easy for your hard earned paychecks to trickle away. [00:53:43.600] Creating a budget can help young adults [00:53:45.680] feel in control and accountable for their cash flow. [00:53:49.520] Budgeting allows young people to ensure [00:53:51.920] that their money is being spent or saved on items that's most important to them. [00:53:57.560] You would be surprised at how many [00:53:59.440] young adults don't have any concept of what happens to their money [00:54:05.440] and I could give you a personal example [00:54:07.600] of a couple of people that I know work every day and don't have a clue. [00:54:12.120] So the second piece of advice is that [00:54:14.880] if an employer offers you stocks as part of your retirement or matching [00:54:22.000] you should take advantage [00:54:23.320] of that to the fullest extent and just purchase the maximum amount, [00:54:29.720] however much that is, so that you can contribute to your retirement. [00:54:35.600] I think it's really important not to let those opportunities slip away from you. [00:54:44.440] Absolutely. Dr. Brannon? [00:54:48.440] Definitely. I think that that's also very, very important. [00:54:51.640] The advice I would give [00:54:54.360] to a young person is find a number of mentors. [00:55:02.000] I think what Dr. Reese said [00:55:02.160] so true for so many people that you don't have mentors. [00:55:06.760] And what I've seen, Dr. Reese [00:55:08.480] gave a great example of having really horrible bosses. [00:55:12.200] For some people, that horrible person is their mentor [00:55:15.840] and they think, "Oh, well, this person is in charge, right? [00:55:18.440] so this must be the type of example, this is an example for me." [00:55:22.680] And sometimes we don't know [00:55:24.640] that the person that we're fashioning our behavior after is not ideal. [00:55:28.720] And so I think finding a number of mentors—a mentor for being [00:55:34.120] a mom, a mentor for business, a mentor for finance. [00:55:37.360] I think having a number of mentors is very, very important [00:55:41.720] and I will always want to clarify [00:55:43.000] that the role of your mentor is not to tell you what you want to hear. [00:55:47.240] Reinforcing, being positive, and giving you praises [00:55:51.480] when you do something great I think is important, [00:55:53.920] but mentors are really there to shape you [00:55:56.920] like you would an ice sculpture or any other sculptures. [00:56:01.040] Having a mentor, but being [00:56:01.400] open to the coaching and the mentorship is really important because being fixed [00:56:06.800] in the "I'm great the way I am" it's very limiting. [00:56:11.240] I think having a mentor to help guide you and shape you and correct you with love [00:56:16.160] when you need to be corrected is really important. [00:56:23.760] Thank you. All right, Dr. Reese. [00:56:25.600] I have a few tidbits that I would like to share. [00:56:28.280] One piece would be to learn everything [00:56:31.160] you can about everything [00:56:33.640] but most importantly learn about yourself. [00:56:37.120] Know what your strengths and your weaknesses are. [00:56:40.280] I had a wise person one time tell me that any strength overcome becomes a weakness. [00:56:45.160] So, you need to know [00:56:46.720] what your strengths are and what your weaknesses are [00:56:48.440] but don't overdo any of them. [00:56:51.480] And I've never forgotten that. [00:56:52.960] I have always gone back to that. [00:56:55.880] I would also say that I'm a very reflective person. [00:56:59.800] I try to reflect every single day on what I did and how I could have done things [00:57:04.200] better and perhaps how would I have done things differently [00:57:08.920] and then I've gone back and made changes [00:57:12.280] in my behaviors based upon those reflections. [00:57:16.680] Probably the most important piece [00:57:18.480] of advice that I would share with someone is that you have to have strong principles [00:57:22.920] and never compromise your honor and your integrity. [00:57:26.120] You must always act in an honest and honorable way. [00:57:29.840] You need to know that the world is full of people who will try and sway you [00:57:33.520] to serve their purposes and their best interest [00:57:36.160] and you do not compromise your principles for anyone or anything. [00:57:39.880] You just do what is right all the time. [00:57:45.120] - [Sarah] Thank you. [00:57:49.120] We'll end with Sara, the godmother. [00:57:51.880] What's your last piece of advice for us? [00:57:55.160] I had a very strong and caring mother [00:57:58.600] and she convinced me all my life as I grew up [00:58:07.840] "Sara, you can. Don't take no for an answer. Be tough. You can do it." [00:58:18.120] That kind of set the tone for my attitude. [00:58:24.320] I've always [00:58:26.840] tried to [00:58:31.480] be kind. [00:58:33.480] It's a funny thing. [00:58:36.840] My husband [00:58:39.160] told me after we got married, he said, [00:58:42.557] "Well, [00:58:45.040] I knew you were assertive when I married you." [00:58:48.280] [laughs] [00:58:49.920] I guess most people think I am [00:58:53.520] an assertive person, but I also try to be kind and fair. [00:59:04.000] Epecially, as you said, with young persons. You should should try to teach them to [00:59:18.920] be kind and strong [00:59:17.900] and stand [00:59:21.160] for their principles, stand on what the right thing to do this. [00:59:27.120] That's what I'm tried to teach [00:59:28.640] my son and I think I succeeded because he's strong willed. [00:59:34.700] [laughs] [00:59:37.640] That's good. Sometimes with my kids, [00:59:40.280] sometimes their strong will can be a little much, [00:59:42.840] but I remind myself when they get out in the world it will serve them well. [00:59:48.400] Sarah, can I ask a question? [00:59:50.840] Yes, I'm sorry. [00:59:51.640] I'll just ask if I could add one thing. [00:59:54.320] I think a positive attitude is really one [00:59:59.000] of the most important things that you could have. [01:00:02.320] Also remember that poster— [01:00:05.960] "All I ever needed to know I learned in kindergarten." [01:00:10.840] Thanks. [01:00:12.280] - [Sarah] Yes, I agree. [01:00:16.440] Well, if no one has anything else right now, I know we're pushing the time and I [01:00:20.320] really appreciate everybody coming, everybody staying a little over. [01:00:26.160] I know I wanted to hear every word of that. [01:00:29.120] Thank you to all of our panelists for taking time. [01:00:31.440] I know everybody is so busy and everybody's [01:00:35.000] worlds have been turned upside down, especially everyone here— [01:00:43.440] guests and panelists who are in education. It's been crazy just getting ready for fall. [01:00:44.160] So, thank you so much. [01:00:45.480] Like I said, this is going to be made available. [01:00:48.440] I'll make sure I send out the link to the recordings. You can share [01:00:51.480] with your friends or family who may not have been able to make it. [01:00:55.560] If anybody [01:00:57.040] has any other questions or anything like that I'll put my email in the chat [01:01:06.240] so you can reach out to me. [01:01:09.440] - [Sara] Thank you much for inviting me [01:01:10.000] to be a part of this discussion. I certainly enjoyed it. [01:01:08.686] - [Sarah] Yes, thank you. - [Dr. Brannon] Yes. [01:01:11.520] Well, I can't find the chat button but I, too, am very appreciative [01:01:16.800] for you inviting me. [01:01:17.960] - [Dr. Brannon] Yes, thank you. [01:01:22.880] You're welcome. Everybody stay safe. [01:01:23.640] Have a good day. [01:01:24.920] - [Sara] Thank you, bye. - [Dr. Brannon] Have a good day, everyone! [01:01:27.400] [Dr. Reese] Bye-bye. - [Sarah] Thank you.