Hey PLUM’s! A few months ago, I had the honor of attending NYU’s annual Women On The Move panel discussion. The guest panelist featured fashion designer Chloe Wade, Hot 97’s Radio Anchor, Miss Info, Fashion & Style mogul Angela Simmons, Love & Hip Hop New York star, Tahiry Jose, VP Marketing director of Def Jam Akinah Rahmaan
Each of these women shared their personal testimonies of their road to success. Legendary hip hop dj Jazzy Joyce delight the crowd with old school hip hop that we all LOVE
Angela Simmons offered a new revelation to the audience. Simmons is the offspring of legendary music icon Reverend RUN of the rap legendary group RUN DMC. Simmons talked about the untruth of the public perception of people that are ‘birthed into success’. Simmons said she worked just as a hard as the average person to brand her clothing line website, and build a reputable name in the fashion industry.
” People always thought I had it easy because of my father and my uncle, Russell Simmons but it was not. I had no funding when my sister and I started Pastry We had to do the research, do the sketches…. and I remembering applying to New York’s FIT to learn about fashion [which was my passion]…. and I was not accepted at first – they declined me. “
Akinah Rahman talked about the importance of working in different job sectors to discover the things that one is truly interested/passionate about, and she shared her personal journey and how she landed a career in the music industry.
Surprisingly, I learned that Tahiry Jose and I have something in common. Tahiry is an alum from New York’s John Jay College [as am I] . She talked about the pressures of success and the negative upside in rushing towards success saying:
“ I remember being sixteen, wanting to be eighteen, then 21, and so on. I was so busy rushing.” Tahiry also shared a personal breakthrough after being so stressed out to the point where she lost a small patch of her hair during her college years.
She rebounded quickly and learned that it was okay to pace herself and she urged the audience to take up one task at a time one journey at at time “
Chloe Wade talked about the value of self-worth and believing in yourself at all times even when the odds are against you. Miss Info accredited her ‘SUCCESS’ by the key importance of ‘PERSISTENCE’. She reminded the audience to NEVER undermine their skill sets and be forthright in transferring all acquired skills to new pursuits.
The two hour panel discussion was very informative and inspiring to not only the college kids in the room but to ALL in pursuit of their personal SUCCESS. I walked away feeling motivated and determined more than I had felt before.
It was refreshing to be reminded that while there will ALWAYS be highs and lows on the journey of LIFE, we must take the time to enjoy the good moments and learn from the bad moments .
Take a listen at a brief excerpt from the event below: