Aimee M. Lawson

I would definitely attribute my success to the goodness and mercy of God and favor. But also my ability to just not give up, because I can't give up. Even when things look dire, I still sit there and try to figure out a way to go around whatever obstacles in my way to make sure that I accomplish what I'm trying to accomplish. I'm very passionate about what I do - if I'm doing it, then you can guarantee that I'm passionate about it. I always ask God to lead, direct, and guide me before I jump into an endeavor, because I have found that I have jumped into things that just wasn't for me, and I didn't take the time to actually consider what was the path that God had for me. So I'm very strong in my religion when it comes to making sure I'm walking the right path, and not only that, also pushing myself and being tenacious about every single thing I do, not giving up, especially when I know that it's something that I'm supposed to have my hand towards.

The best career advice that I've received so far is as long as you're on this side of the earth, it's never too late to keep pushing towards your goal. That advice has really stayed with me and kept me motivated throughout my journey.

I would tell every young woman that no matter what people say that they cannot do, if they have already determined in their mind that they can do it, to never let anything stop them, even if there is a delay. Don't let it stop them. As long as they have breath in their bodies, they can do it. I really want to encourage women not to give up, and not to fall into despair because something didn't go their way. Because so many times I see people, women, with potential to do so much more than they're doing, but they settle, and I just don't want that for women. I want to be able to be a part of something that encourages women and shows them that I am an example that you can get through any tough situation. I want to be able to open up doors, not only for myself, but for other women. That's very important to me, and that's why I'm pouring my time into opening this business, because I want to be able to take this business and teach other women how to create their businesses as well.

The sky's the limit in my field - it's basically about connecting with the right people. Right now, I am working in the state capacity, but I am looking to go back locally, so I've contacted some of my county administrators to actually get into the work that they're doing. Your career can go anywhere you want it to go, as long as you're plugging in with the right people in the public sector. When I went into the governor's office, my goal was to become a policy advisor, but as I started learning more and more about it, I found that I would probably be doing better to do program manager or project director, because that's more of the work that I want to do. Even though I enjoy putting the laws and all of that stuff in place, I want to be the person that's out there implementing those things and making sure that our community gets what they need to get. The opportunities include being a policy advisor, a senator, a House representative, or a mayor - because that's my aspiration, is actually to be a mayor. The sky's the limit.

I think the most important thing that I honor is having a relationship with God, always asking Him to lead, direct, and guide me before I jump into an endeavor, because I have found that I have jumped into things that just wasn't for me, and I didn't take the time to actually consider what was the path that God had for me. So I'm very strong in my religion when it comes to making sure I'm walking the right path. Not only that, but also pushing myself and being tenacious about every single thing I do, not giving up, especially when I know that it's something that I'm supposed to have my hand towards. It's always been my passion to make sure that I am doing everything that I can to leave my mark on this earth and make sure that it's a mark that is something to be proud of.