PROFILES ON WOMEN IN THE WORKING WORLD
Publication Created By Ellie Josephson
This Publication is Serving as a Senior Project Representing Graduating Class of 2018. Inside Features Six Women Based Here in Vancouver, WA Released 5/30/18
Dear Readers, As college approaches, the pressure is now on to finally claim this life as my own. What is my identity? How will I influence the world? Will I fail or succeed? And it seems as though the answer to all of these questions depends on the decisions that I will make in the next few months.I now have the power to make immensely impactful decisions, the power to direct my future. The urgency of these questions start to direct my thoughts and actions. As if I am auditioning for the biggest role of my life, yet I don’t know for which role. With little knowledge about the workforce I will soon be entering, I wanted some answers. So I started a series of interviews not knowing what to expect, though eager to know how others went through this wild process that is self-discovery and how someone could possibly land on a single career to pursue. To gather diversity in my responses, I sought out individuals with varying careers in order to receive a more holistic understanding. Little did I know that I would meet incredibly talented and passionate women who are changing the world. I have never felt so fearless to capture this time, my time, and make something out of it. I hope the following profiles inspire you in some form or another, to chase the passions you never knew you had.
Sincerely,
CONTENTS
08
Erica Marchbank
12
Hannah Valenti
16
Jennifer Corio
20
Kathy Gillespie
24
Michele Larsen
28
Sandrine Bernstein
8
ERICA
Marchbank To finally discover a world of activist and a community that has been making change for years is one of the coolest feelings. It’s reassuring to know that there has always and will always be people out there fighting for what’s right, I just have to go out there and find them. This was what it was like to meet Erica Marchbank. Working for several organizations, Erica thrives on making other people’s quality of life better. She has been volunteering since “I don’t even know when.” From working at the Hough Foundation, being on the board of directors for Arts of Clark County, Secretary for Community Roots collective, Erica always strives to involve herself in every way she can. Her day is spent working for a non-profit organization, as the executive assistant of the Hough Foundation, which supports a variety of outside of school activities benefiting the student of the elementary school. The funding raised by this organization goes towards summer camps, music lessons after school, and supports the family resource center. This work is for sure not the highest paying job, but Erica let me know that “This is heart filling work. Better than sitting in an office, but you also really have to like nonprofit and all that it includes.” Each day varies from keeping track of donations, meet-
ing with people to talk about the foundations, and helping out with different events.
“Volunteerism,
social justice, and activism are my top prioritize in life. Anytime there’s an opportunity to make my community better, I get involved.”
Erica is on the board of directors for the nonprofit organization Arts of Clark County. They are the voice for the arts community in Vancouver which manages art programs, such as poetry in schools, different art workshops, or art incorporated even at a Tram station. Erica’s personal goal being “Making art more visible in Vancouver.” Erica is also the Secretary of a newer organization which creates tiny home communities to house the homeless, Community Roots Collaborative. She is also very politically involved; Erica is the treasurer for a local city campaign currently. Erica keeps herself busy and is not new to the game when it comes to nonprofit work. After years of working for a multitude of different people, purposes, and places, Erica has become a Jack-of -All-trades and due to her involvement, her connections in Vancouver are limitless.
“What I like most, is that it’s fulfilling and that I’m able to see the impact of my work right away.” Though Erica has always cared about others and their wellbeing, her active life as a volunteer really flourished 8-10 years ago when she started to understand how messed up the world was. Straight out of high school, Erica was not prepared. Entering the world of college with no breaks in between, she went to Clark College to get her Associates to soon be burnt out. After going away for a year, she came back to pursue a career massage therapy. She worked the graveyard shift at Walmart in order to put herself through school. Although Erica was living comfortably she “...started to see the big picture. I was not contributing to society, so I quit.” Managing a gym for a while, this somehow segued into the world of nonprofit work where she continues to thrive. Even these experiences Erica had allowed her to give back. Through talking and learning about her story, she was able to give me some words of wisdom for my next adventures. Telling me that “I wish I would’ve spent less time doing things I felt obligated to do. For me, that was working retail because it wasn’t important to me.” To not let other people direct your future, but rather listen to yourself when deciding what to do with your life.
9
“
10
Allow yourself the time to find the things that really resonate with you. Listen to your gut - Erica Marchbank
“
11
12
Hannah V a l e n t i
Here is what I learned from the lifelong encourager of furthering education, Hannah Valenti: You know when you are reading a Wikipedia article, and there are those little blue links and you think “oh that seems interesting”, it takes you to a new article and again “this might be cool”, and again and again until you just going so far deep into a rabbit hole of wikipedia links that you don’t even remember where you started? That’s what your desire to learn should look like. It should take you to the unknown, go beyond the expected, increasing your motivation to better yourself. Always follow the links. Hannah is what’s known as a GEAR UP site director at her current primary location, Mcloughlin Middle School. GEAR UP is an acronym which stands for: Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs. This program follows a single class of students for six years, from 7th to 12th grade, providing extra educational service and support along the way. Unfortunately, since GEAR UP is a grant-funded program, they can only serve one class every seven years, reaching beyond high school into their first year of college. Their target population; free and reduced lunch students; students of color; first-generation college students; students that are facing poverty. There is no typical day for Hannah when she heads off to work. Working an untraditional job comes
along vast diversity in her day to day life. Hannah has been responsible for everything from event planning, to helping students fill out their FAFSA, and, for any other support a student might need, she is there to help. Helping others further their education has become a common theme for Hannah over the years. By taking what she has learned from past experiences, Hannah advocates for growth through education. Hannah’s story starts off in Nebraska where, instead of graduating with her senior class, she told her boyfriend to drive her so she could take her GED test. She is technically a high school dropout, but since she took the test the same year of her supposed graduating year, the state of Nebraska granted her a high school diploma in 2000. Five years after earning her diploma, Hannah started to take a few college courses while working
graveyard shifts as a waitress, but it wasn’t much of a success. “I started to take a couple classes at the local community college, and I failed a lot of them, repeatedly. For a few years” only gaining around 12 college credits in her time attending. A friend moving out of the area and asked Hannah if she wanted to come along. “I looked at my life and I had barely any college credits, I had 3 waitressing jobs, and I was living with crappy roommates. I felt like I was just a little too old to be in that situation (28). It was time to get my life together. So I packed up my stuff and traveled across the country together eventually landing here in Vancouver.” While temporarily living in Longview, Hannah attended LCC, Lower Columbia College while also doing a workstudy job at its entry center that prepared her for her current job. Hannah transferred To Washington State University Vancouver taking 22 credits at a time to
“You don’t need to know anything right now. Currently, it’s your job to figure out what it is you want to do, but that only comes with time and experience”
- Hannah Valenti
13
I think that there’s a fear, that you don’t know ”what’s going to happen. Then you have anxiety
about wanted to control it, and that causes all of this pressure to build, and then there’s a sense of urgency, but that’s actually not a sense of urgency, it’s just fear and anxiety. And the story I just told you about my life, happens to everyone. Do you really think anybody say decides to be an accountant, then goes to school for four years, then becomes an accountant for the rest of their lives? That’s not a thing that happens very much anymore. - Hannah Valenti
”
expedite her prolonged graduation date. “I don’t know what switched. I was a stranger with no expectations to hold me down. I was free to be a new person” Hannah Earned her Bachelor’s degree in Phycology in 2013. Due to a friend’s recommendation, she landed her current position as a GEAR UP site director about 5 years ago. I love that Hannah is a huge supporter of taking control of your own education, and your own future. “You are responsible for your own education, and you are responsible for advocating for yourself. Universities are bureaucratic institutions and sometimes is difficult to find someone to listen to you and help,
14
so don’t stop trying. I don’t care how many doors you have to bang on, I don’t care how long you have to sit in front of somebody’s office, I don’t care what you gotta do, but you get what you need from them.” Hannah reassured me that I don’t need to have anything figured out right now and that, it is my job right now is to figure out what I want to do. It is so valuable to understand that this knowledge only comes through time and experience and to not force anything upon myself, but rather try to experience all I can. Hannah is currently in graduate school and getting a degree in adult education. She hopes to teach GED courses and adult-based education,
transition courses. But more than anything, she hopes to provide educational services in correctional facilities, make sure people have a plan for when they are released, and helping them get up and get going. And although she is moving on from the GEAR UP program, Hannah will always be an advocate for those in need of guidance. If Hannah Valenti was able to make an impact on me within a mere 35 minutes of talking to her, I can only imagine how she has and will spread her infectious positivity towards personal development through higher education.
15
16
Jennifer
Corio
17
A
n engineer by trade, but a mom, a trapeze artist, an advocate for healthy living, and a sculpture artist by heart. What Jennifer does in order to make money, simply cannot embody all the roles she plays and the impact she makes. Knowing Jennifer through a club I’m involved at school; public art coalition, I was able to connect and meet with her to talk about her past and what she has learned from her experience in the working world. Jennifer Corio and her husband Dave Frei started Cobalt Designworks in 2008 and has since created sculptures in public and private settings. A statement quoted from their website, Colbaltdesignworks. com reads “Dave and I aspire to lift spirits and brighten the world through art. We act on our mission by turning metal into graceful forms and finishing them with vibrant colors that add luster to landscapes and levity to moods.” To oversimplify, Jennifer designs, and runs the business, and Dave engineers and builds. They started off designing and creating more architectural work such as gates and signs for a variety of clients but later transitioned into producing more public art, even having pieces right here in downtown Vancouver.
Talking with Jennifer she admitted to me that yes, the architectural work did bring in more money, but that’s not really what Jennifer and Dave wanted to do with their time and talent. Now, Jennifer is currently transitioning into a full-time sculpture artist. Jennifer acknowledged that
“Because of money you can’t always do what you want, but don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t.”
As a kid, Jennifer loved being creative, but since she was growing up in the 80’s there was a big push by the government to get more women into the STEM field. Due to her success shown in her math and science-based courses, she was heavily encouraged by a lot of her teachers to pursue a career in S.T.E.M. “Even though I loved it, I missed out on a lot of opportunities to thrive artistically. I just kinda rolled with it anyways… until I got burnt out and realized I wasn’t using my full self or was exploring the things I used to be passionate about.” After graduating from college with an engineering degree, she worked for a computer company for about 5 years; loved the work, but again, Jennifer wasn’t taking advantage of
Tulip Dance inVermon Washington. Photo taken by Cathy Stevens. By Cobalt Designworks
her full potential, so she got a little bored. Went back to school to get her masters at the University of Washington, expanding her career options. Jennifer worked for marketing at HP until Cobalt design works came to fruition. In 2014, six years into being a full-time sculpture artist, Jennifer’s health went downhill. When life got stressful, the things that made her truly happy, went by the wayside. Not allowing herself to do the things that fed her soul made it so when her health became an issue, she had to rediscover what makes her happy. She experienced a five year long healing journey, and although unfortunate, it’s what shaped Jennifer’s passion for healthy living, and desire to help others seek health as well. Jennifer states that “For me, this journey was just as instructive and educational as college. I don’t even know how to talk about my art practice without somehow displaying the wisdom I gained from that journey.” I asked Jennifer if she could give herself an all-inclusive job title, what would it be? Not being able to respond at the moment, the next day she texted me a response. A hard question no doubt, but Jennifer was able to give me a response worth sharing. “So I’ve thought about your question regarding my ideal work title that encompasses all my passions. I want to merge art, environmental stewardship with healthy, vibrant, spiritual living. In doing so I hope to inspire others to help both themselves and the planet. Also, Dave’s and my mission is to lift spirits and brighten the world through art.” Jennifer’s passion towards the betterment of others and herself is apparent in everything she does.
“I don’t let anyone say they aren’t creative or artistic, because after a career as an engineer I ended up as a sculpture artist. It’s about a growth mindset vs. fixed mindset. You can always get better at something if it’s important to you. You may not be good yet, but you can tell yourself that you’d like to be better”
- Jennifer Corio
19
A
KATHY Gillespie
windy Saturday afternoon, Kathy and I sat in an up beat coffee shop to discuss college, potential careers, and how to be a successful person. Kathy’s authenticity and passion are clear to see within the first few moments of meeting her. My goal for this interview is to listen to her story to learn about her life up until this moment. The more I can understand others potential from their past, the easier it makes it so that I can see my own. The conversation carries on and we start to talk about everything from her daily routine to how to be a successful and purpose-filled individual. “See a Need. Fill a need” Kathy quoted from the movie Robots, released in 2005 about a community of robots always looking for a way to improve the city they live in. Though we may not live in a world of robots, Kathy believes in this ideal nonetheless. Her life has led her to pursue a variety of passions; starting off attending college through a swimming scholarship leading her to new discoveries. While pursuing a political science major, Kathy picked up her interest in newspapers. She enjoyed reading the campus paper but realized there wasn’t enough coverage on women’s and minor men’s sports. Later she approached the editor of the paper asking for change, but the school did not have enough funds to properly staff the newspaper; Kathy, being the person she is, offered to work there for free, to later be hired her junior and senior year of college. Kathy saw the need and
filled it, launching her journey into journalism. After graduating, she moved back to Phoenix Arizona to seek out work. Though aiming for a job as a reporter, Kathy was only offered the position of a secretary at a local newspaper. She agreed thinking, “I need a job, I will do anything.” Only to later find out there was an opening as a reporter. Working as a reporter for a few years, she had landed a job at a big metro paper in downtown Phoenix, as the first female sports reporter at that newspaper in its history, and her life as a journalist was far from over. She moved to California at one point to work at a newspaper, then finally ended up in Vancouver Washington 25 years ago, working as an editor for two newspapers in Oregon. Later even supervised the production side of publications for a few years. She retired from this life two days before her first child was born, propelling her career as a mother and school volunteer. When she started volunteering in the schools, if something needed to be done, she would step up and create much-needed change. “I was on the Vancouver School board for 8 years. I joined because I wanted to help the board be more aware of what’s going on within the classroom.” she was hoping to bring a fresh perspective on the school due to her kids being young and attending. “I did what I always wanted to do, Meet with people and trying to help solve problems.” There Kathy’s job ranged from a mentor for students at Fort Vancouver, a lunch buddy, reading buddy, and
PTSA president. Wherever there seemed like work needed to be done, Kathy liked doing it. Projects all direct impacts on students, such as the Roosevelt elementary school playgrounds and a courtyard renovation to my home, Vancouver School of the Arts and Academics. Each of these projects was led by the one and only, Kathy Gillespie. From swimming to journalism, to volunteer work, Kathy has always wanted to change the world around her and knew how to make it happen. Her belief that “You should devote yourself to each thing you do completely” reflects in Kathy’s actions and accomplishments. Currently, she is running for State Legislator to be able to understand how people feel about the government, and then figure out a way to create change. Her days are filled with endless phone calls, knocking on doors trying to start conversations and organizing her next event. When talking about running, she thinks
“
I feel like that everything that I have done in my life, has brought me to this type of work.
“
I have no doubt that wherever Kathy ends up, her community will benefit from it. It was fun to learn and talk with such confident women ready take on the world in any way possible.
21
22
“Over time can I do all the things I want, be all the things I want, experience all the things I want? And the answer is yes, but be present in each thing that you do.� - Kathy Gillespie 23
Michele LARSEN P
urpose-driven individual always striving to always make a difference in the world, Michele Larsen’s vivacious spirit has taken her far in this journey we call life. Currently, she works for internal communications at the Educational Service District, ESD 112. ESD 112 ensures equitable educational opportunities for all students by operating over 300 different programs. Aside from paving the path towards better and more equitable education, Michele’s passion project, The Joy Team, has created national impact spreading Joy since 2009. This idea of spreading Joy was sparked when Michele and her daughter Taryn hit the streets of Portland, Oregon, and Vancou24 ver, Washington, to spread notes
of positivity and ever since, they have been looking for new way and opportunities to get the message out. Already knowing Michele, I knew she has had a set of qualities I admire and hope to harness in my adult life. But to better understand how her passions have flourished throughout the years, I wanted to sit down and talk with her about life and the journey she took to get where she is now. Michele’s story began in New Mexico where she attended her first two years of college, not knowing what she wanted to study, she declared herself as a business major “because it seemed general enough.” Most
college students are more or less forced to decide what they should study. “I think I just switched every time I found a class I couldn’t stand or didn’t want to take.” Michele switched from business to accounting, to psychology, then finally English, all occurring within her first two years of college. Taking a break from college, she moved to San Diego, where she lived for five years before finally attending what is now known as Colorado University. This is where she at last fell in love with Literature and poetry and decided to pursue a future as an English lit. major. Goes to show that finding yourself in your work isn’t simple.
25
26
At one point in her life, Michele worked for a craft catalog were she was responsible for layout design and product description writing. The skills she was able to obtain through seemingly unrelated tasks of designing and writing for a craft catalog, lead to her being well equipped in launching her own publication, which she did. The Purple Turtle Press started in 2003 publishing an annual directory of women-owned and managed businesses called the NW Women’s. It also functioned as a monthly publication advocating for women in business called, NW Women’s Journal. This was launched based on the idea that “I’m going to do something I love or I’m going to be unhappy. So I decided to start a publication.” Her positive perspective on her future was refreshing “I still feel like there are unlimited possibilities for my life.” I am grateful for the time spent picking her brain and left with a new outlook for the next few years I have in front of me. Taking away from our conversation, you never know where life will take you, and if what your learning now will help you down the road, because
“Every job you do, every experience you have, the skills that you learn from those things build and accumulate will help you get to the next best place in your life. So, nothing is wasted.” 27
28
SANDRINE
BERNSTEIN
Sandrine Bernstein’s job is far from ordinary, each day has a new surprise in store. As a social worker housed in the emergency room of a hospital since 2006, Sandrine works with all types of people. Her typical responsibilities include meeting and talking with people in some form of crisis and directing them to the correct location. Dealing with a variety of abuse, alcohol, or placement cases. “There’s really not a typical work day, that’s what I like about my job, it’s very diverse. It’s a very busy environment, talking to many many people each day.” There are few people that could do what Sandrine does; social work in an emergency room will always keep you on your toes, due to the stressful atmosphere and amount of people in need of help. While normally able to any situation thrown at her, Sandrine also is very goal oriented. Sometimes this means work can be really frustrating for her, when things aren’t moving along smoothly; people can be waiting a lot, they are stuck at the hospitals or there are no current beds available. Sandrine’s journey to where she is now Connecting with Sandrine through her daughter, I had known few details about her life up till now, and was eager to learn how she really got to where she is now. When asked, if
her life as a social worker was a straight shot out of high school, she responded saying “I think I always knew that this was what I was drawn to, but my road to it was very scenic.” Going to high school in France, Sandrine was very busy growing up. Although heavily involved in the arts, she was “always drawn to social sciences,” making that her focus in high school. “Growing up I was busy with Dance, Music, I was in an art school. I went to school from 8:30 till 5:00. Then I had about three hours and music lessons afterward.” After she graduated from high school, Sandrine worked a few summer jobs, and started her first year of law school in France. While studying, she babysat and worked as a bank teller. Later, she came upon an opportunity to travel to New York for a quarter. She ended up loving it in the city and later decided to transfer there for college. This is where she re-established her love for social sciences and realized it was a better fit for her. While living in New York, Sandrine was a receptionist for the school of languages; a place that manages groups of french students coming into the city for internships. Though she knew she wanted to pursue social work, her path
to her current destination was not quite over. After New York, Sandrine moved to LA for a period of time. Here she worked for a french company as an administrative assistance for military surplus, which had nothing to do with social work. Around the time her daughter was born, Sandrine and her family moved to Tillamook, Oregon and opened a scrapbooking store for a little while. She finally moved to Vancouver, after selling the store, and going back to school to earn her masters. At the end of our conversation, I asked, “Is there anything you wish you would’ve done differently?”
“
No, I wouldn’t do anything differently, because of my life experiences are a part of what got me here. I don’t like looking at life in the rearview mirror and I think those poor choices still helped me get to where I needed to be. So just all be thankful for where you are at in life.
“
29
“It’s interesting when your in
highschool, you think you have a clear idea of what you want to do, but life just takes you different ways. You won’t get there in a straight line, and that’s okay
“
- Sandrine Bernstein
30
31
Each of these women are successful in their own way, are happy in their own way, and make a difference in their own way. Though I set out to better understand certain career fields, I have gained so much more. Through listening to those who have gone through it all, I can understand the minuteness of my anxiety about my future. Life is limitless and full of potential, no worry or doubt of mine should ever get in my way of pursuing a hobby, field of study, or job.
PROFILES ON WOMEN CHANGING THE WORLD