To all that missed the celebration of life for Anita this past Saturday, I want to share the speech I made.
Good Afternoon,
I am honored to be one of Anita’s many mentees and I’m grateful for this opportunity to speak on how wonderful and fierce Anita was. She was a true shining example for all of us. She had a lot of heart and fight and was always willing to help others.
Today I want to speak on my history with Anita, what I learned from her, and how we can all carry on Anita’s legacy.
My relationship with Anita began when I was a PAAWBAC Fellow back in 2011.
I got to know Anita better while planning what to do after my fellowship. Anita was kind and generous with her time and ideas. We would go on lunches and talk about everything. In typical Anita fashion, she would pepper advice throughout the meal. She gave me contacts and leads and coached me on how to approach them. Her mentorship went beyond my professional life… she was really invested in me and wanted the best for me.
Over the last few years, Anita guided me through a lot of different challenges, including navigating work, life, and love.
She taught me three important lessons, which I want to share with everyone today.
1. Be focused. Remove things from your to do list that you are not passionate about.
I loved working on multiple projects and looking into different ideas, but as I got older and my responsibilities piled up, prioritizing became key to my success in making sure things get done.
Taking off things you don’t need also applies to people. Meaning, stay close to friends and people you treasure, and discard the people in your life that drag you down.
After Anita retired, she cleaned out her house and made sure she donated what she didn’t need to charity. She also took time to focus on her health and made time for friends, family and organizations that meant a lot to her.
2. Be kind. Be generous with your time and money.
Being kind is something everyone can easily do to make the world a better place.
Anita was not just kind, but she was also passionate about helping the community and compassionate to others. Give back to help others.
She was a tireless advocate for women and donated her time and money to various causes. Put your energy and resources where you want to make the biggest difference
Even though she was in the hospital she was still supporting various charities and other causes. She taught me not only to receive but make sure to pay it forward.
3. It takes a village…make sure that you build a village of
support.
One huge thing Anita taught me is to be fearless about asking for help, and to build a community.
She reassured me that nobody does it alone. Everyone needs a support system to get things done and she made sure I had a good one in place. Many of her close friends, who are also on the Board of PAAWBAC---whom I referred to as aunties are also on my team thanks to Anita.
So how do we carry on Anita’s legacy and make her proud? It’s simple: do what Anita did throughout her life and continue giving our time and money to help support our communities and advocate for those who are marginalized. We will rise up, volunteer, mentor, teach, donate, and always offer a helping a hand or a shoulder to lean on.
Thank you, and thank you Anita. We miss you!!