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Rear Admiral shares 'recipe' for success
Nevada Daily Mail
Rear Admiral Sandra L. Stosz, of the United States Coast Guard, is a woman whose entire career has been made up of many firsts.
As part of the third female group to graduate from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, in 1982, Stosz has worked through the ranks in a way that was never seen before.
Due to her experience in firsts, and creating her own success story, it seems very fitting that she came to Cottey College on Tuesday, to share her experiences and her own "recipe" for success.
Even though Stosz is a woman of many great achievements, she does not forget to thank the women whose struggles and successes have built the foundation for her own leadership.
Stosz began her presentation by telling the history of the women before her.
Her "history lesson," she said, began even before women won the right to vote and instead, started when Myra Bradwell went to the Supreme Court after being barred from getting her license to practice law.
After Bradwell came Dorothy C. Stratton, a woman who majored in psychology, instead of home economics and directed the United States Coast Guard Women's Reserve during World War II.
Lastly, in her history, she spoke about the women who pushed to make Title 9 happen, women like Billie Jean King and Gloria Steinem.
After explaining the people before her, Stosz spoke about her own achievements related to her many firsts.
Stosz became the first female to work on a law enforcement vessel that enforced the fishing and drugs laws. She also was the very first woman to be appointed as superintendent of any of the federal service academies.
However, Stosz told the audience that even though she was proud of her achievements, she wished she did not need to be seen as the first woman.
She spoke about the difficulties for most women in reaching high positions such as her own, and about the findings of the McKinsey study, in 2011, on women.
Her presentation led to the question of whether or not women can have it all, and Stosz artfully had crafted an answer in the form of an analogy.
"You go into a restaurant, and the menu may be 10 pages and your plate is not big enough for all the food. You cannot eat it all at one meal, so you get carry out, too." She told the audience, "you do the same with leadership."
Stosz ended her presentation by encouraging the audience members to be proud of who they are, and to accept all their personal attributes.
She mentioned that while she is a rear admiral, she is also "great at baking." Therefore, Stosz said she felt it very appropriate that her way to success seems almost like a recipe.
In order to be successful, one just needs passion and pride, a purpose, a good presentation of themselves, and they need to prepare, have a good sense of personal and professional power, and most importantly of all, perseverance.