Sharanya Menon Schuldt

I've never had a time where I didn't know that success was attainable to me. I always felt like you can do anything if you care to unlock your own potential. There was never a barrier in front of me that wasn't me. I don't know if it was my parenting or how that translated out, but my mom never explicitly said 'you can do anything' - it was just embedded in there. I never had a moment where I didn't believe that it could happen. I knew I could fail, but failure was possible while success was also always possible. The fascinating thing is that the older I am, the more insecure I got, so I wonder what that security was as a young person. I was so secure and confident, and then you go to college and see other people doing things, you start the comparison game, and it slowly erodes at your own confidence. But eventually you get to another place when you're old enough that that's all behind you.

One of my professors said, 'You have a choice not to be a mediocre attorney or not,' and that's been so influential to me. I think about it all the time, and I've talked to junior attorneys about it - listen, do you want to be mediocre, or do you want to do this extra thing? That's up to you. I even apply it in my personal life with my husband. I tell him, if you want to be a mediocre dad, you can, but if not, then think of who you want to be to your son. It helps people realize that they're doing the bare minimum because they can, but is that really what they want? I really think every person, every step of the way, could do this to someone.

Don't worry if you don't see someone who looks like you, sounds like you, or has the same name as you. It's easy to feel like you don't belong in a space, and I think that happens more for women than men. Even in 2026, there's a shocking amount of education you have to do around things to people, but you have to do it in a way that's skillful. It makes a lot of sense that you're angry, but if it's not skillful, then that's just wasted feelings and emotions. You have to be strategic and careful. My own personal brand is to be compassionate and clear. Life is about strategy, not just viral moments. It's a lot more strategic, and that's where skills can really come into place. Don't feel left out of something because you don't see yourself there, but also understand how important strategy is to get your message across. The change you want to see in the world, you won't be able to maybe do it at 21, but you could do it down the line when you're at a different sphere of influence. If you can have a sphere of influence on your siblings and your parents, then that's your sphere of influence. If it's wider, then that's your sphere. If you have authentic colleagues, and that's your sphere, then work within that. It all matters.

Integrity is a very key value that matters so much to me. I couldn't do anything less than that, and I think I also have a hard time accepting anything less than that. Reliability is another main value - showing up as how you say you're showing up, or when you say something, your word matters. All of those things are tied in together in a way that I really appreciate.