She believed she could, so she did.
Meet Marietta Vickrey, a trailblazer, my personal hero, and my mom.
This picture was our last together, a little over a month ago at Disney, where she joined us for my son’s first time at the Happiest Place on Earth.
And, it is a trip that I will forever be grateful for.
To say that my mom has had a huge (if not the biggest) influence on my life would be an understatement.
Ask anyone who knows me personally or has listened to me tell my story:
I was NOT the poster child for good behavior and grades.
As the baby of the family, I did not stray far from stereotypical behavior:
🙋♀️ Highly energetic
🙋♀️ More than a little rebellious
🙋♀️ Enamored with risk-taking
Although most of those traits showed up in the form of terrible grades and acting out, shockingly to many (including my mom) I’m now an overachieving entrepreneur.
As I reflect on the life of my mom, I find myself thinking about her journey and the impact it’s had on mine.
Of the many things I often tell others from her life lessons, here’s a favorite:
If you can see it, you can be it.
You see, my mom was single in her early 20s with two young girls — putting herself back through school — rising up the ranks from secretary to CEO — joining boards, and volunteering for so many charitable organizations.
While I didn’t fully understand how much my mom sacrificed in order to provide for my sister, Jennifer Higgins, and me growing up, I made sure that she knew she’s my inspiration today for working so diligently.
Despite all her success, I can assure you that nothing came easy for her.
She’d later tell me about the challenges she faced as a woman in leadership in the 70s, 80, and 90s, which spurred my passion to push for equality the same way she did for others.
Fast forward to today, ClearEdge Marketing has a new division dedicated to rising up women in leadership, ClearEdge Rising, which is just one of several endeavors of mine dedicated to increasing opportunities for women in the workplace.
I’m so grateful that my mom’s legacy of clearing the path and helping others rise not only lives on through the work Jen and I are doing but also through an American Staffing Association Women in Leadership scholarship in her name. My dear friend, Megan McCann, also a passionate advocate for equity in the workplace and in the world as a whole, helped set it up.
When people ask how they can honor my mom, I can’t think of a better way than this scholarship.
While I wish so much that she was still here with us today, knowing that her legacy will live on through others brings my family great comfort.
Loss is never easy, but one thing I’ve learned through this is that the impact you make on others—even if you feel like not enough is there— it’s growing, and it’s stronger than you know.
Keep showing up. Your impact will be felt for generations to come, just like my mom’s.