The woman who inspires my dreams
By Betty Bergquist, Sales Vice President, American Family Insurance
Women’s History Month is a time to reflect on women who accomplished firsts and stood up for equality so we could have better lives today.
Women like Marie Curie, a physicist who was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize. Margaret Thatcher, the first woman in European history to be elected prime minister. Gloria Steinem, who became nationally recognized as a leader and spokeswoman for the American feminist movement.
It’s also a time to thank women who had an impact in our own lives, helping us become who we are today.
When I think about women who made a mark on my life and my career, women I admire most, I keep coming back to my mom.
Yes, I had wonderful mentors who helped me succeed. Women who went to bat for me and pushed me to the next level.
But it all started with my mom.
Growing up, she was the kind of mom who never told us we couldn’t pursue a dream. Instead, she instilled the belief in my siblings and me that we could do or be anything we chose. And, she always helped us see the first step to making that dream possible.
I have a sister with special needs. When we were young, the laws weren’t as progressive, and it wasn’t as easy to find support like it is now with the internet. My mom was a tireless advocate, working hard along with my dad to make sure my sister’s needs were accommodated so she could have the best opportunities, despite her challenges.
A teacher by training, my mom chose to change her career to match the needs of our family. She was involved in our school and the community to make things better for all of us. One of the characteristics I respect most about my mom is that, if she doesn’t like something, she doesn’t just talk or whine about it. She gets involved to change it!
My mother stands up for what she believes in and faces challenges head on.
Modeling the way, my mom showed me what it means to be a strong and courageous woman who doesn’t think about what cannot be done, but instead thinks about how to make things better.
My mom is not the only strong woman in our family.
She had a great role model in and learned from her mother who had a positive, can-do attitude. My grandmother raised nine children while working on their family farm. She enjoyed life to the fullest for sure! A consistent memory I have of my grandma is of her dancing in her kitchen to the radio … and that was when she was in her 80s! She kept that positive approach to life right until the end, when she taught my husband to juggle from a hospital bed in her family room. Gotta love that!
These loving, strong and powerful women — my mom and grandmother — shaped my perception of what women could do and be, and gave me a good example of how to attack life. They modeled strength, resilience and joy. My mother still models these traits not only for me, but also, as a grandmother, to my children.
I strive to make them proud of the woman I am today.
