Angelique Batholomew

I contribute all of my success to prayers. My mother and father were very grounded and rooted spiritually. They grew up in the Deep South, and we were a part of the original civil rights movement community. My father traveled the Gulf Coast region, ministering and providing the support and grassroots community efforts that kept people and community together, which is why I thoroughly believe in community engagement and grassroots relationships. But it's truly been the strength of prayer and believing in God and having faith in what I've been told and taught about him, and more importantly, what he has put inside of me to guide me.

The best career advice that I've ever received has to be to recognize that everything seems hard until it's done.

Definitely put on the hard hat and don't be afraid to take on the opportunities that have predominantly been male-dominated. Don't be afraid to learn industries that are male-dominated. Have an understanding of at least the concepts and opportunities that can be made available in the various industries. You never know when you might align with some of them and be able to introduce them to others. So put on the hard hat, do the work, and build relationships in industries that have not traditionally allowed us to engage.

Opportunities and challenges actually kind of coincide in the industry right now. The diminishing of opportunities around women-owned businesses and participation as it relates to DEI and the changes and transformations in programs or certifications that would allow entry and participation have waned. However, it has also brought out the good in the opportunities through the challenge of people coming to step up and recognize where those opportunities have waned and still provide an open door, even in the private sector and public sector. So I think that the opposing sides are taking care of each other. It's just like anything else - there is a balancing act, and seasons change, but you're able to ebb and flow and learn new things when those challenges come about. So we've been able to pivot. When it comes to looking at the challenges, there has to be another way. There's always a way to win, is what I like to say.

Maintaining relationships is most important to me. I am a wife and a mother first - a God-fearing wife and mother, I'd like to add. But the most important thing to me in both of those aspects, from my personal and professional life, is going to be relationships. Relationships matter to me, and being committed to them and having an understanding in those relationships has really allowed me to grow and expand while growing the relationships that I develop.