“How?!” You say? Well, it all started when . . .
I joined the team at Discover at the end of January 2023, and a few weeks in at a team building event, my fearless leader and now friend whispered in my ear while handing me her phone, “Hey, can you attend this event?”. And I read her email to see “BET HER Awards”, “represent the company”, “interview Emmy nominated stand-up comedian, actress, writer, and producer; Sam Jay” . . . Miss ma’am, YES! The answer is an emphatic YES, because what else am I doing with my life?.
The significance of this request was not lost on me. I was recommended to attend this event before I had even memorized where the bathrooms in my new office were, and this was due to the intentionality I put into creating my personal brand over the years. I am a firm believer that we are always interviewing for something, even when we think we aren’t. This, coupled with my mother’s “Ranti omo eni ti o je” (Remember whose child you are), ensures I stay grounded and guided by values of grace, kindness, and being the best version of myself that I could possibly be. Years of staying true to these values manifested (and continues to manifest) in events and scenarios that seem like sudden luck, whereas luck is the intersection where years of consistency, preparation and opportunity meet.
The event itself was nothing short of amazing, the crew at BET HER know how to put an event together! Shout out to Tavia Pitts, Christine Stepp, Darryl Hendricks, and the entire BET HER team for a flawless execution. And for the intentionality in contracting with minority, Black, women -owned vendors throughout the event.
Highlights of the event was Sam Jay’s speech that underscored the fact that Black womanhood is not a monolith, and that multi-identity advocacy and allyship is critical to drive the success of women everywhere. An additional highlight was meeting Thasunda Brown Duckett, one of only two Black women leading Fortune 500 companies as CEO. Her urgent call for equity and inclusion of Black people, Black women, in building generational wealth and financial liberation spoke to the core of my soul. Members of Black and Hispanic communities (women especially) are often disproportionately impacted by various -isms in society and the workplace, and it is our collective responsibility to change that reality.
