A conversation on the importance of achievement

By Carlos Martinez

A 2022 report by McKinsey & Company stated that women leaders are just as ambitious as men, yet women still face more challenges that will make it harder for them to advance. “They’re more likely to experience belittling microaggressions, such as having their judgment questioned or being mistaken for someone more junior,” (McKinsey & Company) However, at Come to Believe we understand that women are highly capable leaders. A great example of this is our Board Member, Carmen Romero, who shared with us her thoughts on empowerment: 

Empowerment looks like trusting colleagues, respecting them and allowing them to fail, if needed.  To support empowerment, I try to create a collaborative culture where people share authentic and different perspectives to arrive at solutions as a team. 

Come to Believe is proud to continue not only supporting but also showcasing the achievements of women who are part of the CTB community. This month, CTB had a two-part conversation on the importance of women’s achievements with Arrupe College ‘19 graduate, Zughey Flores, and Arrupe College ‘18 graduate, Stephanie Ramos.

At Arrupe, the faculty and staff continue to implement holistic methods that successfully support students to achieve their goals. Both Zughey and Stephanie shared with us a bit about the ways Arrupe supported them. Zughey shared that “Arrupe has truly changed [her] life forever [...] the community that Arrupe created for all the students and for me [...] they were always offering support.” Moreover, Stephanie told us that “Arrupe has impacted me so much that my Master’s proposal is going to be about Arrupe [...] Arrupe did change my perception of myself as a student, and I say that because from K through 12, I went believing that I was not smart enough, capable enough to achieve [...] a degree.” 

Both Zughey and Stephanie are already accomplished leaders. Zughey highlighted that some of her major achievements were to serve as an Orientation Leader for incoming Arrupe students, as well as working with Serving People with a Mission as the Chief Programs Officer.  Stephanie has also had her fair share of achievements as she now pursues her Doctoral degree of Community Psychology at University of Illinois in Chicago. Stephanie is committed to help “women to feel empowered regardless if they’re in higher education because there is this stigma [that] if someone doesn’t have higher education they’re not qualified.”

During our conversations, both Zughey and Stephanie discussed the importance of representation to their achievements. During our conversation with Zughey, she shared with us that for her, representation is “seeing other Mexican women taking on leadership roles.” Having her grandmother and aunt as great achievers inspired her, as she now pursues a Master’s in Counseling at Northwestern University’s honors psychology program. Zughey is now someone who other women–and young women in particular–look to for inspiration to continue pushing forward and achieve their goals. Furthermore, Stephanie shared with us that she is “really proud of [herself] for all the achievements that [she] has accomplished within the past year [such as] graduating undergrad [...] as a first-gen latina.” CTB is proud of Zughey and Stephanie and their achievements as they continue advancing academically and professionally. 

As we celebrate women–and women’s achievements–this month and all throughout the year, we reflect on what CTB’s Board Member, Mara Smith shared with us: 

Regardless of gender, it is important to use our own privileges and seats, and voices, at the table to bring women with us. In practice this means using our words to advocate for women, even and especially when those women aren't in the room to advocate for themselves. It means sharing knowledge, perspectives, experiences, and connections to empower women. And it means being pro-woman in every aspect of our lives, whether that is speaking against misogyny or choosing to see women as allies and not enemies. No action is too big or too small to help ensure women are in the best position to lead and succeed.