By Lisa Rigoli
As a first-generation Jamaican American growing up in a non-diverse community, I often struggled with my identity and my confidence. I constantly asked myself: Who am I to step into a space with confidence and not compromise who I am at the core?
As a young child growing up in a Jamaican household, I wanted to embrace my roots. But the world around me often sent a different message. I felt the pressure to conform and guess what, I did. When I entered the corporate world, this tension followed me. I adjusted my behaviors in ways that felt like compromising myself.
What changed for me was finding BIPOC women who modeled authenticity. They showed me how to embrace assertiveness and which parts of my identity to bring into professional settings unapologetically.
