The Importance of Perseverance in Women: An Encomium to My Mom

Introduction

She despises the notion of her brilliance shining. Although, on rare occasions, she shares her stories to me—not with pride, but with the quiet humility in which she sees herself. Lisa Kramer is her name, though I simply call her “mom.” To the world, and to me, when I remind myself of her greatness, she is a testament to what women achieve through perseverance.

Growing up

Born in the 70s, a time when things were changing fast, she grew up watching women start to take on new roles in society. But there was still one place that was mostly untouched by women: the world of STEM. Engineering was a field that desperately needed bright minds, yet few women were part of it. She’s told me stories of her childhood, where her parents worked together on the farm as equals. She often recounts her appreciation of having parents who didn’t hold her back to a housewife way of life, and it shaped her into the person she is today. No one told her she couldn’t do something.

College

When she got to college, though, that story shifted. She went to the University of Illinois, one of the best schools in the country for Civil Engineering, and suddenly found herself in classrooms with just a handful of women and a sea of men—two or three girls in a lecture hall of one hundred. It wasn’t just the degree that was tough; it was standing out in a crowd where she knew she wasn’t fully welcomed. But even though she graduated with a hard-earned degree, the workforce was a different story. Her first job brought new challenges, where being a woman in a male-dominated space meant facing unfair treatment. But she didn’t let that define her. This part of her story is important because it’s where a lot of women would quit—where they lose confidence and step back. But she stuck it out, determined to prove them wrong.

Building a Business

There are countless stories I could share about the things she had to deal with—things that no one should ever face. But she wouldn’t share them in her story so neither will I. The part that matters most isn’t just what she went through, it’s how she kept going. Her strength doesn’t come from simply enduring those challenges, but from persevering through them, even when people were cruel. She wasn’t just out to prove the system wrong, though; she wanted to create something new, something better. And she did. Her company is just one testament to her work. She created an engineering firm that now has over one hundred employees and over half female leadership.

Conclusion

Through my mom, I’ve learned that what makes someone isn’t just what they go through, it’s how they go about responding. I’m proud to call the woman named Lisa Kramer my mom, not just because of the struggles she faced, but because of how she’s one of the women who has reshaped the system in the process.

She taught me this: Don’t just challenge the system, reshape it.