Kimberly Odom

I attribute my success to what my parents instilled in me. I recently watched the movie 6888, and Kerry Washington's character talks about the burden to be better, and I think that can be a gift and a curse. I'm thankful for my parents, Archie and Ruby Calhoun, always instilling in me that you gotta do your absolute best, walk in excellence, and do everything that you do in excellence. I'm always hearing their voices in the back of my head. I watched them and how they lived and led in our community. My mom was the first African-American female magistrate in our county, and my dad led a church, worked in the hospital system, and started his own business. They were great role models who told me and demonstrated for me to always work in excellence. They did not grow up the way that my brother and I were afforded to grow up, but it served as motivation for them. My dad talks about having to go to a field trip to a factory, and he was like, nope, I don't want to do that. That was motivation for him to go to school, do all the things, and be able to provide opportunities for me, and therefore opportunities for my children. My dad's existence was in very impoverished populations, and if not for an educator pouring into him, a lady who ended up being my brother's godmother, if not for what she did for him, then my life would look very different, my children's lives would be very different. It really started with my parents, their experiences, and what they poured into me. I know that allowed me to be able to experience some of the successes that I've been able to.

I would say finding a great mentor or sponsor, someone that you can lean on, that you can trust to be a think partner in the work is so important. Sometimes you think you're doing the right thing, but you just need someone to give that assurance and affirm some of your decisions. I also think networking opportunities are crucial, so any and every opportunity that I have had to be able to either go to a professional development opportunity to learn, network, or to share, I take it. I keep certain things in my back pocket if I see where there's an opportunity to call for presentations. That puts your name out there and gives you another opportunity to sell yourself and hone your presentation skills. I always look for opportunities for feedback when I'm presenting. So I think those would be the biggest things: looking for a mentor, and then just trying to build the village in terms of networking opportunities to learn, but also looking for ways in which you can share whatever your niche is, looking for opportunities to put yourself out there and share with your colleagues.

My faith is very important and paramount. I would say it's faith, family, and friendships. Those probably are the core of my value system. I believe in service as the rent that you pay for being here. I believe that if you've been blessed, you're blessed to be a blessing to others, and so I do have a strong belief in making sure that you give back, and especially to the least of these.