Kaytrina P. Simmons

I attribute my success to my faith and prayer, and the encouragements by so many, especially my mother. My mother's no longer with us, but she often told us you can be anything that you set your heart and your mind and desire to, as long as you keep the faith and you trust God. That has penetrated in me, and I still carry that to this day. I didn't wake up overnight and discover my purpose - it took some bumps and bruises - but I'm here, and I know my purpose and why I'm here.

The best advice I ever received was from my mother, who told us you can be anything that you set your heart and your mind and desire to, as long as you keep the faith and you trust God. That advice has stayed with me and continues to guide me throughout my career and life.

First, I'd tell her to have a relationship with God. Be mindful of the decisions that you make, even at your young, tender age, because that will potentially follow you the days of your life. Be cognizant of your surroundings, of your friends, the decisions that you make. And if you have a desire, even if you fall, get back up - don't let that be your stopping point. If you perhaps made a mistake in life, or you grew up in a different environment than what society deemed it was, you don't have to be a product of where you grew up in. So if you have a desire, find a way, reach out to someone to help you cultivate that, and you too can make it. Don't let your dreams die.

I think right now, the biggest challenge is that I am the president of our Florence City Council, and being that I'm a female, and also an African American female, especially in this climate, in this temperature of what we're in today, that's challenging within itself.

I believe that you should treat everybody like you would want to be treated. Treat everyone on the same level. It doesn't matter what level that a person has reached in life, even from the janitor to the White House. I think people are people, and you should love everybody and treat everybody with dignity, with humility, and with respect. I have a heart for people - it doesn't matter your cultural background or your economic status background. I lean towards those who don't have that opportunity, who feel like they're not heard or valued or not seen, or may have come up in an impoverished situation that they didn't have any control over. I find myself a lot of times in those situations where I'm just there to help, to encourage, to cultivate, and to push them to that next level. Everybody has a calling and a purpose.