Ashley Farrer

Honestly, I think it's the resiliency that growing up with an ailing parent kind of gave me. It's the focus and determination of the people around me - I've had the opportunity to really see people push past adversity, not just within my family, but in friends as well, and it's always motivated me to kind of never give up and just keep pushing for what's next. Really, having my son in my last year of school has been a major driver for me. Once I had him, a lot of people were just like, oh, you know, you've derailed yourself, you're never gonna be able to accomplish the things you want, and I was kind of just like, I don't believe that. Where there's a will, there's a way. It was more of a, I'm gonna accomplish what I need to accomplish, it might take me a little longer, but I'm gonna do it. I've also had the opportunity to work for some amazing women. My managing director when I was at Morgan Stanley was extremely encouraging - she trusted me to revamp programs, she trusted me to run with things on my own, and she ultimately became a sponsor. Even now, my manager that I have is another amazing woman where they trust in my abilities and give me their full vote of confidence and kind of just let me run with things. The fact that they have that confidence in me has always been something that I needed to drive me to do better, to work harder, to learn more and get us where we need to be.

I would tell them, don't be afraid to take a risk. Don't be afraid to step out and try something that you might not feel like you're the most qualified to do. One of the things that my sponsor pushed me to learn was just because you haven't done it doesn't mean that you can't do it. Skills are so transferable, and what has led to the success of many men in this industry is that they're willing to take on opportunities that they know they're not qualified for. It's not that they're not qualified because they can't do it, it's just that on paper they're not qualified because they haven't done it. Women are not in many instances considered qualified for something until you've shown that you can do it, but you don't get the opportunity to do it if it's completely out of your direct peripheral space. My sponsor pushed me to take on something that I knew nothing about, but taking it on has led to so many additional opportunities after the fact that I wouldn't be where I am in my career if it wasn't for her pushing me to go. Trust yourself enough to take a risk on yourself. Bet on your abilities to do things and accomplish things and learn things. And then just always be open to learning from other people around you, because that is one thing that has gotten me very far in my career. I pay attention to the women in front of me and ask questions on decisions they've made, paths they've taken. I've built relationships with them, because when you're trying to make a decision, it helps to have someone who is influential to you, who you can ask for guidance on that decision, or you can at least run what you're thinking by them and get their perspective on it.