Roshonda Baker

I attribute my success to faith, community support, and understanding that no is really just a pivot. It's really God - that's the only way I can get through this and support my community. I also believe in the power of your weakest ties being your strongest. Your family and friends are great and there to support you, but the people who get you in the door are the people that you meet while you're sitting at a bar, or at a coffee shop, or working at a job. That person can get you into the door that you never knew that you needed to be in. I've gained multiple mentors over time by putting myself out there and not being worried about falling.

Your weakest ties are your strongest. I hate to say this, but your family and friends are great and they're there to support you, but the people who get you in the door are the people that you meet while you're sitting at a bar, or at a coffee shop, or working at a job, and you're like, oh, I don't really talk to this person that much. Well, that person can get you into the door that you never knew that you needed to be in. I realized this in my early 20s when I got the call - the way I'm gonna get into these rooms is by putting myself out there and not being worried about falling.

Don't be afraid to share your story. There's a lot of women out there who have stories that they're scared to share. When I spoke at the Fearless Women Conference two weeks ago, I kept talking about the power to pivot and not being afraid to share your story. There's so many women older than me who were like, wow, no one actually just says it. And I'm like, yeah, I'm not afraid, you can't be afraid. Don't be scared to do the abnormal. I know that the safe is to do what we've seen, but sometimes the best thing to do is to do the unseen. You gotta believe in yourself. Take the leap. What's the worst you can do? Fail? That's not even an option. Failing is when you don't try. The power's within you. Toning out the noise, understanding that you have the values you can be, you will be. You don't have to do mom, dad, grandma, you can be who you want to be. It's not going to be easy. You're going to cry. You're going to be working when everyone else is sleeping, but you can get it done.

The challenge is that when you want to do bigger things and you don't have that big platform, sometimes people don't want to take a chance until they actually meet the person behind the face and realize that, okay, she actually has heart for this. For example, when Jamaica got hit by Hurricane Beryl last November, people were like, I don't think you can pull this off, I don't think you can get donations. But I got $5,000 in donations, got multiple medical supplies, shipped things over, got over 30 hands helping me, and went into those areas that were completely deserted or didn't have any help. I gave out over 100 care packages and went to Cornwall Hospital where they're working in horrible conditions. There was a lot of people saying, you sure you can do this and make it a quick turnaround? And I did it. Sometimes the truth of life is when things happen, we forget that people are still in crisis.

Faith, consideration, and understanding are most important to me. Not everyone has the same story, but it doesn't make them any less. I try to tell students that I speak to all the time that the power's within you. Toning out the noise, understanding that you have the values you can be, you will be. Values like being considerate, hardworking, understanding that no is really just a pivot - it's just another stance. I think that goes for everyone right now in the state and the economy that everyone is in right now, that you just have to have faith, consideration, and positive thinking for sure. And a team - you can't do it alone.