Lakisha Reardon

I attribute my success to my dad. Even though me and my mom are very close, my dad instilled in me a little bit more value in certain ways. He's a man, so he kind of let me know what is acceptable and what is not acceptable. He taught me not to let any man treat me badly, and to know what to expect in the working world, in the dating world, in every aspect of life. I didn't step out into the world not knowing what to expect. My dad set the bar for excellence. He taught me to get my own money, get up and work, and that there's nothing wrong with being independent as a woman. He told me to set the bar straight, and if I want something different, I have to look for something different. I don't always have to take the same route home. If I'm looking for something different, I have to look for something different. I'm extremely, extremely close with my dad.

The best piece of advice I've ever received came from my mother, and she told me to never stop thinking that you're too old for education. Don't ever think that. There are people that are in their 60s and 70s that are still getting what I accomplished. So if you want to move your career further, or you want to go back to school, it's never too late. It's never ever too late. That advice really stuck with me because it reminds me that learning and growth don't have an expiration date.

I would say go for it, reach for the stars. And if you can't get the stars, get the sun. If you can't get the sun, get the moon. But don't ever stop, and don't ever give up. I would tell them, like I told my best friend, don't ever lower your standards. Don't ever lower your standards, whether it's for careers, for yourself, or for your relationships. If you have a standard, you set that standard and you keep it. Those are your standards, and you should never compromise them.

The biggest challenge in my industry is that it's a male-dominant field, so you're still fighting regardless, even though I have a team of 6 to 8 men. Sometimes I feel like they could possibly challenge me, like is she really fit to do this? And yes, I'm very fit to do this. I don't get it often, but when I do feel like I'm being challenged, I get very defensive in a professional way. I have to set the standards and show that this is what I'm here for. However, I don't feel like I have to keep proving myself over and over, only when I feel challenged. On the opportunity side, I'm shocked that there's a lot of room for growth in this field. It's not a position where you're just maxed out. There's a lot of room for growth, so it's not a dead-end gig.

I like to set the bar with high values, because if I don't set them high, if I fail, at least I know there's another notch under that highest mark. So I like to set my bar a little bit high. In my work life, I value integrity and treating people with respect. At the end of the day, we're all here to do a job, and we have to do a job. But outside of that job, we are all a person. We are a person that has family, we're a person that has kids, we have dogs, we have pets, we are persons, so I treat them with the same respect that I would treat them on the outside, also on the inside. In my personal life, I value family because I'm the only child, and when they're gone, I don't know what I'm gonna do. But I know they set a foundation for me to not fear, to know I'm gonna be okay. Even though people think only children are spoiled, I'm just raised different. I believe in giving, I donate a lot, I'll help out anybody. I'm not selfish like most only children. I'll give you my food out of my refrigerator if it's to feed your kids before I eat. That's just who I am.