Women Who IMPACT: When Women Use Their Stories to Help Other Women

Women Who IMPACT started with a simple thought:

There are incredible women all around us.

Women who lead businesses.

Women who serve their communities.

Women who raise families, build careers, survive hard things, start over, and somehow still find time to answer emails, attend meetings, help somebody else, and remember where everyone is supposed to be.

Usually.

And I started thinking about what could happen if we brought some of those women together—not just to celebrate what they have accomplished, but to use their stories and experiences to help other women believe in what is possible for their own lives.

That is how Women Who IMPACT began.

This One Is Personal for Me

I have a lot of reasons for caring about this program.

I know what it feels like to look at your life and realize it does not look anything like what you thought it would.

I know what it feels like to start over after a divorce.

I know what it feels like to be a single mom, trying to hold everything together while also trying to figure out who you are outside of simply surviving the day.

And let me tell you, there is no instruction manual for rebuilding your life.

There should be.

Preferably one with tabs, checklists, snacks, and a chapter titled, “What to Do When You Have No Idea What You Are Doing.”

But there is not.

So, like many women, I figured it out as I went.

I worked.

I raised my children.

I made mistakes.

I learned from some of them.

I probably made a few of them twice just to be sure.

And eventually, I began building something new.

Starting Over Does Not Mean Starting From Nothing

For years, I worked at the movie theater.

To some people, it may have just looked like a movie theater.

To me, it became a place where I could create, lead, connect with people, and build something meaningful.

We did more than sell popcorn and movie tickets.

We built relationships with our community.

We created events.

We supported local organizations.

We found ways to make people feel like the theater belonged to them.

And yes, there were also late-night phone calls, staffing problems, broken equipment, weather emergencies, and the occasional situation that made me wonder whether I should laugh, cry, or hide behind the concession stand.

Sometimes all three.

But that job taught me something important.

It taught me that I could lead.

It taught me that I could create something wonderful out of something ordinary.

It taught me that I had ideas worth listening to.

And it helped prepare me for opportunities I did not even know were ahead of me yet.

That is one of the messages I hope Women Who IMPACT can give to other women:

You may feel like you are starting over, but you are not starting from nothing.

You are bringing every lesson, every hardship, every job, every failure, every success, and every bit of strength you have collected along the way.

Going Back to School at 43

I earned my associate degree at 43 years old.

I did not take the traditional route.

I did not graduate from high school, go straight to college, earn a degree, and have my entire life neatly mapped out by 25.

Actually, I am not entirely convinced anyone has their whole life mapped out by 25.

Some people just have better planners.

Going back to school as an adult was intimidating.

There were moments when I wondered whether I was too old, whether I was capable, and whether I had waited too long.

But I did it.

And earning that degree meant more to me because I understood exactly what it had taken to get there.

It was not just a piece of paper.

It represented every time I kept going when quitting would have been easier.

That experience is a huge part of why education matters so much to me now.

I believe in second chances.

I believe in new beginnings.

I believe in women discovering that they are capable of more than they have been led to believe.

And I believe that sometimes all a person needs is someone beside them saying, “You can do this. I know it is scary. Do it anyway.”

What Is Women Who IMPACT?

Women Who IMPACT is a program of IMPACT Learning Center created to support, encourage, and empower women and girls in Jackson County.

At the heart of the program is the S.H.E. Pathway:

Support. Hope. Education.

Those three words represent what we want women to experience through this program.

Support when life feels overwhelming.

Hope when they cannot yet see what comes next.

Education that gives them tools, confidence, and opportunities.

Women Who IMPACT will include mentorship, workshops, leadership panels, career development, resume and interview support, school outreach, and opportunities for women and girls to learn directly from women who have already walked through challenges of their own.

This is not about pretending successful women have perfect lives.

They do not.

Nobody does.

It is about being honest about the work, the struggle, the setbacks, and the persistence behind the success.

It is about saying, “Here is what I learned. Maybe it can help you.”

The Women Behind the Program

One of the most meaningful parts of Women Who IMPACT is the group of women who have agreed to be part of it.

These are women I genuinely respect and admire.

They are business owners, educators, leaders, professionals, mothers, mentors, advocates, and community servants.

They have different backgrounds.

They have different personalities.

They have taken different paths.

But each of them has something valuable to offer.

Some are quiet leaders who never seek attention but are always there when someone needs them.

Some are bold, visible leaders who are not afraid to speak up or take the first step.

Some have built businesses.

Some have built programs.

Some have spent years serving others behind the scenes.

Some have overcome challenges that people around them may never fully know.

And every single one of them has a story that could help another woman.

I do not admire these women because they are perfect.

I admire them because they are real.

I admire their determination.

I admire the way they show up for their families, their work, and their communities.

I admire the way they keep going.

And I am incredibly honored that they are willing to lend their voices, experiences, and time to Women Who IMPACT.

Why Representation Matters

It is powerful for a young girl to see a woman leading a business, running an organization, serving in public leadership, or standing confidently in a room where decisions are being made.

It is also powerful for her to hear that the woman did not always feel confident.

That she failed sometimes.

That she had setbacks.

That she changed direction.

That she started over.

That she had days when she wondered whether she was good enough.

Because seeing the finished product is inspiring.

Hearing the real story is what makes it believable.

Women Who IMPACT will help women and girls see that leadership does not look only one way.

You do not have to be the loudest person in the room.

You do not have to have the perfect background.

You do not have to follow the traditional path.

You do not have to have your entire future planned out.

You just have to be willing to take the next step.

We Are Better When We Help One Another

I think women are often taught to compare themselves to one another.

Who is more successful?

Who is prettier?

Who is further ahead?

Who has the better career, family, house, wardrobe, hair, or ability to remember every important date without checking the calendar seventeen times?

Women Who IMPACT is not about comparison.

It is about connection.

It is about women looking at one another and saying, “I see what you have built, and I respect it.”

It is about opening doors instead of guarding them.

It is about sharing knowledge instead of keeping it to ourselves.

It is about helping another woman rise without believing that her success somehow takes away from our own.

There is room for all of us.

And there is so much more we can accomplish when we stop competing and start connecting.

What I Hope Women Who IMPACT Becomes

I hope this program becomes a place where women feel seen.

I hope it becomes a place where young girls discover mentors.

I hope women who are changing careers find encouragement.

I hope single mothers see that rebuilding is possible.

I hope women who have been told they are too old, too inexperienced, too much, or not enough begin questioning who gave those opinions so much authority in the first place.

I hope our Women Who IMPACT share their stories honestly.

The polished parts.

The difficult parts.

The parts where they had a plan.

And the parts where they were completely making it up as they went along.

Because those are often the parts that help someone the most.

I also hope this program grows into something bigger than any one person.

I may have helped bring the idea to life, but Women Who IMPACT belongs to every woman who chooses to pour into someone else.

Every woman who mentors.

Every woman who teaches.

Every woman who encourages.

Every woman who shares an opportunity.

Every woman who looks at another woman and reminds her that she is capable.

Becoming a Woman Who IMPACTS

For a long time, I did not think of myself as a leader.

I was simply doing what needed to be done.

Working.

Raising my children.

Starting over.

Going back to school.

Building something at the movie theater.

Taking the next opportunity.

Trying not to panic.

And carrying on.

Looking back, I realize that leadership often begins exactly that way.

It begins with showing up.

It begins with caring.

It begins with doing the work even when nobody is applauding.

It begins with believing that something can be better and being willing to help make it better.

That is what I see in the women who are part of Women Who IMPACT.

And that is what I hope this program helps other women see in themselves.

You do not have to wait until you feel completely ready.

You do not have to wait until your story is perfect.

You do not have to wait until every hard chapter is over.

Sometimes your story—exactly as it is—is the thing another woman needs to hear.

That is how women create change.

That is how women build community.

That is how Women IMPACT.