Friday, May 3, 2013

Mentors: Who Do You Respect and Admire?

The dance competition TV show, Dancing with the Stars, featured the Camden Sophisticated Sisters (CSS) dance team on the Tuesday night edition. The show saluted the director of the program, Tawanda Jones, for her dedication and inspiration to the kids in the after-school program. 

Watching her story of 26 years with CSS, viewers  learned how important she is to her girls. She encourages them to be the best they can be and empowers them to reach for their dreams. She is a wonderful role model and mentor for the kids who live in a dangerous neighborhood in Camden, NJ. Read her story as a CNN Hero here.

Yep, these girls could sure "bust a move" and they proved it by dancing an energetic, synchronized dance for the audience and viewers of DWTS. Take a look.

You TubeVideo from Dancing with the Stars 

Do you have someone who is very important in your life? Someone who you respect and admire and you believe you want to be just like her? Medical Doctor Cate Bradley admired her grandmother and wanted to be just like her.

Excerpt from Girl Succeed:



Role Models Rock



“From as far back as I can remember, I knew I wanted to be a doctor, and I had no doubt that I could do that since my grandmother was one,” said Dr. Catherine (Cate) Bradley. She smiled as she remembered her grandmother.
Cate’s grandmother received her medical degree in 1937.  At that time, it was unusual for a woman to be a doctor. She was dedicated to helping her patients in the small town in Vermont. Cate’s grandmother was important to the members of her community and always went out of her way to help.  She received an award from the American Cancer Society for her work in medicine and was respected as a physician, a wife, and a mother of three daughters.
Cate achieved her dream of becoming a doctor. But, unlike her grandmother’s family medical practice, Cate works at a university.  She has three parts to her job.  She treats patients who are sick.  She teaches classes to medical students who are studying to become doctors. And she does research to try to learn more about medical problems and figure out how to develop better treatments for diseases. Her research is not done in a laboratory, but rather in a clinic where she treats patients. Cate records the information on how the patients react to these treatments.
In order to be a doctor, a student must study for four years in college, four years in medical school, and at least three years of advanced training in an area of medicine, such as family medicine or pediatrics, taking care of kids.  Anyone with the desire to be a doctor must be dedicated to working hard to reach this goal.  Cate always worked toward her goal because she wanted to help people, and she enjoyed science, especially biology, the study of the human body. 
“I like to figure out problems and puzzles which is much of what I do when a patient comes to me with a problem,” she said.
Cate’s week is busy with her duties as a doctor, wife, and mother.  She sees patients in her office, performs surgery, and writes reports on the results of her research.   Cate and her husband, Scott, have two sons. Their active family also includes their yellow Labrador retriever. 
Cate was valedictorian in her high school class, meaning she had the best grades in her class. But there was a time in her life, between seventh and ninth grades when her family moved four times.  It was difficult for her to make friends because she was always the new kid in school.  She wanted to blend in with her classmates and make friends, so at times, she tried to hide how smart she was.  She did not want to be different. 
After her family moved to Minnesota in ninth grade, Cate gained confidence through playing clarinet in the band, joining the swim team, and playing the piano.  Her family stayed in one place.  By the time she entered eleventh grade Cate had made friends and was comfortable with being herself.
Cate believes that if you’re willing to work hard, you can become whatever you wish.  Cate’s grandmother inspired her to become a respected doctor, loving wife, and fun-loving mother.
Who do you respect and admire?  Would you like to grow up to become like someone you know?  You can do it!  Keep working toward your goals.

HIGHLIGHTS OF HER CAREER
Valedictorian, first in her high school class, Minnesota
Bachelor of Arts Degree in Biology, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
Doctor of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri
Residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
Fellowship in Urogynecology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
Member of Faculty (Teachers), University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa
Received a Career Development Grant to fund patient oriented research, National Institute of Health, Washington, D.C.,

FOR MORE INFORMATION
National Institute for Women’s Health Information http://www.girlshealth.gov
A Day in the Life of a Doctor by Mary Bowman-Kruhm, Claudine G. Wirths
Working in Health Care and Wellness by Barbara W. Lee

If you would like to read more about role models in a career that may interest you, check out the e-book, Girls Succeed: Stories Behind the Careers of Successful Women.

Now available at:









1 comment:

  1. It was my pleasure to contact CSS and donate a copy of the Girls Succeed e-book to their program. You rock, CSS!!

    ReplyDelete