Issue link: http://maconmagazine.uberflip.com/i/1302793
I'm glad we're moving past the first because when we do that as a society, I think we will see how beneficial that is to allow everyone to have a seat at the table. What can Macon do to help foster law careers for young African- American women? Open up yourself and your businesses to giving a chance to people who are demographically different than those you currently work with. When you look around your space and you don't see diversity, that should disturb you – no matter what profession it is. When you lack that diversity, you're missing out on a whole segment of a community. Diversity extends beyond just advertising to a diverse community. Diversity means including that community within the scope of your work. What advice do you have for other women interested in law? Pursue excellence. Run it down. Chase it. Grab it. Hold onto it and never let it go – no matter your circumstances. Be excellent at what you do and success will follow. That will get you where you need to be, and many times where you want to be, and sometimes places that you never thought you would be. When you're talking about being excellent, that transcends professions. Success will find you, even when you're not looking for it. That's especially true for women. What keeps you up at night? Pondering and wondering and asking God to show me what I can do to bring us all to a sense of concern for one another – not just talk about community, but be community- minded. I understand that we cross the gamut of thoughts and ideas, political events and what matters to us, but at the core level of humanity, there ought to always be a concern for everyone. If we have empathy, not sympathy, I think of how much better our world could be. I recognize it could never be perfect. But at this point, with all that we've gone through as a society, as a nation, I feel like we should be in a better place. I want to do what I can to make that happen. What gets you up in the morning? The idea that today might be the day I can make a difference, that something I say or do might propel us a little bit further, a tiny bit further. I love people, so people are my passion. Whatever my work entails – dealing with people, asking their concerns – I'm passionate about it. Anything that involves encouraging, inspiring, elevating and just serving people inspires me. That gets me up; that gets me going. How do you balance the emotional heaviness that can come with being a judge? Remembering my source. I recognize and accept the fact that I am divinely put in the posture that I'm in. Therefore, I have everything I need to be able to handle all that comes before me. When it becomes too much for my little mind to entail and I can't remind myself of my divine placement, then I go out in nature and just remember it's bigger than me. It's bigger than everything I do and there's purpose in everything that occurs. That keeps me grounded. How can Middle Georgia better support our people? I really want us to think about including people within our circles who are different in every conceivable way. It goes beyond race; it goes beyond political affiliation. I continue to believe that when we get to the point where our circle is extremely diverse, we can begin to truly hear each other. We can begin to work toward solutions that are inclusive of everyone. Celebrating 10 years serving our Macon Community 478-741-0046 • SignatureDentistryOfMacon.com Celebrating 10 years serving our Macon Community 478-741-0046 • SignatureDentistryOfMacon.com Celebrating 10 years serving our Macon Community 478-741-0046 • SignatureDentistryOfMacon.com JUNE/JULY 2020 | maconmagazine.com 23