Work

“Work” is a value-laden term that has changed drastically over time, particularly in relation to women’s daily lives. Despite a legacy of opinions to the contrary, WWHP views women’s work as inherently valuable, whether taking place in the formal structure of paid employment or the private realm of home and family. We seek to understand each woman’s work on her own terms in her own words.

Christine Corley

Audiologist

Probably the most amazing experience I can think of was when I was at Children's [Hospital] and I was in when a CI [cochlear implant] got activated. It was a little kid. I think he was 26 months, and his CI got activated and his mom started talking and everyone in the room was crying and it was pretty amazing. 

Dr. Christine Corley was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1986. She grew up in Reading, Massachusetts with her parents, two sisters, and brother. Dr. Corley is affiliated with Worcester because it is where her job is located. She is employed at the Hearing and Balance Center of New England, as an audiologist. Dr. Corley received her undergraduate education at the University of Massachusetts and attended graduate school at Northeastern University. It was at Northeastern University where she attained her doctoral degree of audiology. Dr.

Interviewer: 
Emily Santoro
Stephanie Pantera
Interview Date: 
Tue, 11/03/2015
Interview Focus: 
Health
Work
Name Sort: 
Corley

Kathryn Calo

Partner, Bowditch and Dewey Attorneys

I would probably tell them to not be afraid to speak up whether it’s for yourself or someone else about an issue no matter what. And then also not to be afraid to take risks because I think a lot of—at least I feel like a lot of women are—we’re not risk takers. And I don’t know what it is, whether we are afraid to fail or we are afraid that we are not good enough. I’m not sure. But I don’t think you should be afraid to take a risk because even if you don’t succeed you’re learning something from it. And again, speaking up because I think that unless you can give yourself a voice, nobody else is going to give you one.

Kathryn Anne Calo was born in 1982. She’s the second of four children and is extremely close to her family. After graduating from Medfield High School in 2000 Kathryn went on to get her Bachelor’s in Psychology from Endicott College, graduating in 2004. Kathryn continued her education at New England School of Law in Boston.

Interviewer: 
Jacqueline Flood
Katelin Riley
Interview Date: 
Mon, 10/26/2015
Interview Focus: 
Education
Work
Name Sort: 
Calo

Vanessa Bumpus

Exhibition Coordinator, Worcester Historical Museum

I would say don’t try to do everything.  Do what you know you can do well and do it to the best of your ability. You don’t need to be the women who has a job, and raises children, and plays sports on the weekends, and cooks gourmet meals, can fix her own car, and you know fixes the toilet when its clogged [laughs] and do all these things. You don’t need to have to do everything. If you can do one thing well and find out how you can use that skill to help others, to help your family, to help people who don’t have access to that, then I think you’re successful. It’s all about how you feel about it and how you can use that skill to help others feel just as proud as you are. That’s how I raise my kids and think of success.

Vanessa Bumpus is an exhibition coordinator at the Worcester Historical Museum.  She was born in1975 in New York City.  She attended Marymount Manhattan College for her undergraduate degree and the University of Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for graduate school.  After getting married to her husband, Joseph, she had two children.   Vanessa tells of life growing up in New York and her move to Massachusetts as a teenager.  She also discusses how her family pushed her to succeed in life, which led her to many career opportunities including interning for David

Interviewer: 
Caroline Arnold
Kaitlyn Murphy
Interview Date: 
Fri, 11/13/2015
Interview Focus: 
Education
Work
Name Sort: 
Bumpus

Melanie Bonsu

Girl Scouts Administrator

Again, nothing is permanent and you are responsible for your own happiness. So I have to focus on that and I can’t wallow in misery when I have two other people that I am responsible for, and I don’t want to be a poor role model for them. I don’t want them to see work is stressing my mom out, “Oh my god, I don’t want to get a job when I’m older.” Because I don’t want them to think that life is tough. I don’t want them to think I’m weak either. So that’s my biggest—it’s not the best thing in the world, but I try not to be emotionally upset around them, and they’re always around.

Melanie Bonsu is a thirty-four-year-old bi-racial woman who has spent the majority of her life in the Worcester area. She loves Worcester and states it is a big city with a small town feel.  Her father is from Ghana and her mother is from Philadelphia, PA.  Melanie has a close relationship with her parents to this day and relies on them for a lot of support. She had her first child when she was a senior in college and moved back to Worcester for the support of her parents.

Interviewer: 
Roslyn Flaherty
Shannon Porter
Interview Date: 
Fri, 11/06/2015
Interview Focus: 
Work
Name Sort: 
Bonsu

Leanore Bona

President, League of Women Voters Worcester; lawyer, community volunteer

When I was working for the medical society, a lot of the community outreach I did, over and above working with the clinics directly, was with what I called, ‘shadow communities.’  Those are people you wouldn’t even know exist in this city, but there are thousands of them.  You know, all the people who work in the kitchen of a restaurant, that kind of thing.  And I’m sure—I never asked, I never asked—but some are illegal, most are not, just trying to seek out a living on the first generation level so the kids can do a little bit better later.  So those are the people I worked with.

Leanore F. Bona, known by most as Lee, was born on Long Island, New York in 1949. Lee is the President of the League of Women Voters in Worcester, Massachusetts. She defines herself as a nontraditional woman who has never married or had children, but rather has dedicated her life to helping those around her.

Interviewer: 
Franchesca McMenemy
Sarah Small
Interview Date: 
Sun, 10/18/2015
Interview Focus: 
Politics/Community Involvement
Work
Name Sort: 
Bona

Amanda Beaver

College of the Holy Cross Administrator

There's actually a quote that I love and I never get it quite right, but it’s something along the lines of,  "Life is the constant act of juggling balls. You just have to know which ones are glass." I think that is so beautifully said because my family is always that one I can't drop. But the other ones, sometimes it might be that I don’t get to pay attention to the Republican debate or I don’t get to go listen to this. It doesn’t mean that it’s not important, but it just, it didn’t rise to the top quickly enough.

Amanda Beaver was born in 1981 and currently lives in Natick, Massachusetts with her family. She holds a bachelor of arts in German from Holy Cross and a MBA from the University of California Irvine.  She now works at the College of Holy Cross as a Leadership Giving Officer and for the Holy Cross Fund, which is their annual fund. Amanda also addresses the issue of priorities in work and life, her volunteer activities, singing, and running the Boston Marathon.

Interviewer: 
Alyssa Ruggieri
Hanna Leck
Interview Date: 
Mon, 11/16/2015
Interview Focus: 
Politics/Community Involvement
Work
Name Sort: 
Beaver

Victoria Waterman

CEO, Girls Inc.

I would say that women have made a tremendous amount of progress.  Some things haven’t changed, the way we love our families, and the sisterhood that happens among all of us is--that hasn’t changed over the years and generations.  All of that still remains.  When you educate a woman, you educate a family. 

Victoria Waterman was born in Providence, Rhode Island in 1963 and is now the CEO of Girls Inc.

Interviewer: 
Andrea Burnette
Heather Ewell
Interview Date: 
Wed, 10/22/2014
Interview Focus: 
Work
Politics/Community Involvement
Name Sort: 
Waterman

Cathy Sessions

Marketing Director, Notre Dame Health Care

I know so many people define success monetarily and if you reach a certain status. That isn’t my definition of success and it's interesting in this class [Zen class] the first day, the first class, this is one of the questions that we were to ponder for the Zen and what makes a successful day for you, what makes a good day and so I’ve been pondering the question. For me it is when I go home feeling good, when I know that I’ve made a difference.  It can be the smallest of interactions, but you know that interaction made a difference in someone’s life.  I would say that is my definition of success and being a good person, being proud of the decisions you’ve made and ethical stances you’ve taken, and so that’s how I would define it.  I feel like I’ve done that.  I’ve lived a good life and I’ve treated people well. 

Cathy Sessions describes attending St. Lawrence University and being on the first women’s ice hockey team and then attending Boston University to earn a master’s in social work with a specialization in gerontology.  She also discusses her interest in alternative medicine and competitive sports.  She talks about her career path and her current position as Marketing Director at Notre Dame Health Care as well as her views on aging and success.

Interviewer: 
Amy Nguyen
Danielle Tagarelis
Interview Date: 
Tue, 10/21/2014
Interview Focus: 
Work
Health
Name Sort: 
Sessions

Laura Pease

Animal Control Officer

I love the fact that I have been able to reinvent myself throughout my life.  It is really empowering to know that you can change if you find something that you want to do different.  Then you can actually just go and create the possibility of doing it. A lot of people get sick and they do something even when they don’t like doing it anymore because they are so afraid of not having the income or not being able to make the change that they do something they don’t love.  I have been able throughout my life to do what I love. 

Laura Lee Pease was born in North Brookfield, Massachusetts in 1957.  In this interview, Laura touches upon the ability to reinvent herself throughout the years.  Growing up in a very equal family, Laura’s father, an experienced hunter, wanted his children, regardless of gender, to know how to hunt.  These skills ended up being useful in her future as an Animal Control Officer.  An Animal Control Officer is typically a man’s job, but Laura’s skills landed her the position.  While Laura was in college, she met and married her husband and they decide

Interviewer: 
Yakaira Gonzalez
Interview Date: 
Fri, 10/17/2014
Interview Focus: 
Work
Name Sort: 
Pease

Pauline Marois

Printer, Saltus Press and Worcester Telegram and Gazette

Full time, stay-at-home [mom].  Again, if you live according to your budget and you live lower than your income—I always sewed, I always cooked, and I felt that I didn’t bring money home, but my job was to save money.  And my husband always made me feel that half of a paycheck was my contribution as well because if he had to hire for food and laundry and day care and etc., etc., he’d have to work another part time job.  So, I was always the equal even though I was a homemaker, I was always an equal partner which is more than I can say for some. 

Pauline Marois was an extraordinary woman to interview.  She did work full time but was not paid for it, and still, to this day, she works part time and is not paid for it.  She was a stay-at-home mother and is now a part-time stay-at-home grandmother.  Pauline Marois was born in Worcester and lived in her grandparents’ three-decker with the rest of her family.  In this interview she discusses working at Saltus Press and the Worcester Telegram and Gazette, making her own clothing, marrying her husband, and raising her two daughters.  She said that her husband

Interviewer: 
Alisia Cosenza
Kathryn Collins
Interview Date: 
Fri, 11/07/2014
Interview Focus: 
Work
Name Sort: 
Marois

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