Work

I mean the fire was really something. It’s hard even explaining what it was like to people who weren’t here then. I feel like everyone was kind of connected to that in some way, you know. One of the families grew up around the corner from us so we went to grammar school with them. I mean it was pretty significant. I can’t think of anything on that same level. So it was [December 3, 1999] I believe and it was at night. I was at home, but my younger sister was at the Auburn Mall with her friends. And my mom had, was driving out to pick her up kind of at the beginning of all of this before they started shutting down the streets. On their way home they were redirected, they had to go a different way but on her way out to the Auburn Mall she took [Route] 290 like how you would just normally go to get out to the Auburn Mall. And she said that the heat coming off of that building, even on the far side of 290, she said it was so hot coming in the side of her car that she thought the window would burst. And at that time we, no one, I mean it wasn’t quite on the news it was kind of like, “Oh there’s a fire in Worcester.” You know, those kind of stories are on the news all the time, no one was really thinking anything of it. But I mean, parts of 290 and roads were closed for weeks.  It was really massive. I mean the building that came down was…I mean it was huge. And it’s weird kind of now to think about like now I just drive by. I mean I drive on that road every day. I drive on 290 every day to get to work. But it’s funny to think, “Oh my God, for half of my life I drove by a building that just doesn’t exist anymore and took six people’s lives and changed their families’ lives forever.” You know, I mean that’s pretty significant.

When you are comfortable you are not learning and you are not pushing yourself.  So sometimes you’ll be offered an opportunity, and I think women do this, they say, “Oh my God, I couldn’t possibly do that,” because I think we underestimate what we can do.  And so what I would say to you is, “Do it.  Put yourself outside of your comfort zone and give it a try.

I found my fit, you know, and not everybody gets to find that.  God, you talk to people and they’re in jobs – they hate these jobs, they’re miserable, or they’re in three different jobs or you know? And I’m so, I’m so lucky that I’ve found it. I’m very happy.

I think if the woman is qualified I think she should run for office because if you want the job well done you hire a woman.

I would say get involved and speak up. I think even as far as society has come, society still teaches us to take a back seat, to sit on the outsides of a meeting table. You’ll see the men all come sit at the table and you’ll often still see women sit around the outsides.  So I would say sit at the table. It’s still going to be very rare that somebody invites you in, so sometimes as uncomfortable as it may be you have to invite yourself in. And then I would say something certainly that I have tried to do is pay it forward.  You’re given an opportunity,  pay it forward to someone behind you because we’re our best allies and our best advocates so it’s our responsibility to bring other women along with us.