Over the last few years, women have made incredible advances in the workplace, particularly in the business world. It is unfortunate that women are greatly underrepresented in the corporate world; however, the advances that they have made are significant and should be recognized. A particular individual that has made amazing advances in the business world is my mom, Barbara. She is the most hardworking person that I know, and the advances she has made are astounding.
My mom has always been an inspiration to me. Growing up, she lived in a low-income household, with little to no opportunity to experience any of life’s luxuries. Her parents had very little money and three children to support. Her mother was a house wife who encouraged my mom to follow in her footsteps, but my mom decided on her own that she was going to be a pharmacist. By taking out a large number of student loans, she was able to attend Rutgers University. After completing both undergraduate school and pharmacy school, she graduated with a PhD and began her journey as a pharmacist. To pay off her loans, she began to work long hours at retail pharmacy stores. Starting off in New Jersey where she grew up, she worked at Pathmark, a grocery store and pharmacy near her house. Not only was my mom paying off loans and trying to support her family at this time, but she also decided to move across the country with her husband and five-year-old daughter. She had finally paid off all of her student loans and had saved enough money to travel across the country and settle down in Scottsdale, Arizona. She eventually became the pharmacy manager at a local Walgreens pharmacy, exceeding what many thought she would be able to do. But that was not even close to the end for my mom.
Over the next few years, she was growing tired of working in retail. She was approached by a family friend who wanted her help starting a mail-order pharmaceutical company. She took a large risk by leaving her job and trusting in this company, but everyone around her knew what a hard worker she was and that if anyone could do it, it was her. She worked incredibly hard every day to build this company from the ground up. I am so proud to say that just a few months later, my mom became the president of this nation-wide pharmaceutical company, building it up from one employer to over 500 in Arizona alone. She is successful in so many different things in her life, and has proved to me that you can do anything you set your mind to. Now, my mom is no longer working with this company, but is so proud of how much of it she grew and expanded. She is focused on personal projects, such as getting licensed to be a pharmacist in many more states and creating products of her own.
As a junior in college, I am extremely determined to follow in my mom’s footsteps. Although I am doing law instead of pharmacy, her success and worth ethic is something I am so proud of. The advances she has made are monumental, and it is incredible to compare where she is now to where she started. Women are very wrongly underappreciated, especially in the business world. They have so much potential and together have made incredible advances. There are many women in this world just like my mom. She is just one amazing example of a successful businesswoman, and if you look around, you will be able to see so many amazing women achieving similar things.
This article was written by Ciara Petronzio, a future intern at the Reid Law Firm.