Every woman has a catalyst, the thing in her heart that dives her to do more and bring help to those around us.
That catalyst is what drove me to start networking and helping women around me. I realized that to grow my career and feel fulfilled I needed to have people in my life who I could count on and trust. I started out in the scientific field as a sophomore in college, young, enamored with science and ready to learn everything I could. I was at a stage in my life where I was soaking up information like a sponge. My first internship in an academic lab quickly stopped me in my tracks when my advisor told me “you are a woman and don’t belong in the lab” and “you don’t look like a scientist, you should go into business”. This sparked my catalyst like a fire ready to spread and prove them wrong! I immediately left and made it my mission to be a successful scientist while helping women around me achieve the same. Flash forward a few years and I was a research associate in a small Cambridge start up, fully responsible for assessing the selectivity of our drugs for our target protein. I also gained confidence and no longer cared that I “didn’t look like a scientist”. Even today, you will find me clicking my heals through the lab with a full face of makeup, my hair curled, and my signature gold hoop earrings. At this point, I felt I had the time to start volunteering and quickly found Women Accelerators. I started as an event coordinator and within a few months worked my way up to become the youngest president of a non-profit organization at 24 years old. I wanted to help other women starting their careers and with the help of my team created the coaching program with a $10,000 grant from the Working Women Wonders Fund. I am forever grateful for the opportunity to grow my managerial skills and bring opportunities to other women around me. I always knew I wanted to start a non-profit with a partner someday, one that would speak more to my mission and vision. Steph and I had become great friends and found many similarities: we grew up together in the same hometown, quickly left to became scientists in Boston, and found that we had a similar inner catalyst. One day she texted me “The Female Catalyst” and the plan was immediately in motion. So, welcome friends to our network of high value women and a group created in our likeness. We are so excited to have you on this journey with us and are looking forward to all that is to come.
Gianna
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