A mother. A sister. A Kenyan. A survivor. These are only a few words that describe Jemimah. Her modest, welcoming home is filled with a quiet warmth and seems to mirror her personality perfectly. It has been a stable setting for her teenage daughter and six-year-old son, a scene in which she longed for. In Nov 2013, Jemimah came to Round Rock from Nairobi, Kenya, following her sister, a nurse in the area. Growing up in the African country, she had a normal childhood and attended college after grade school. Like many after graduation, she worked, got married, and had children. After a few years in a terrible marriage, she realized she needed to have a clean break for the sake of her children and her own survival. That led her to move to the United States, Round Rock, Texas, to be exact, which surprisingly seemed very familiar to her. “I would say the pace of life in Kenya is more like here. It’s very cosmopolitan, just like Nairobi, so it wasn’t hard to settle in in terms of just the environment. But adjusting in terms of life was very different because I felt like I had to start all over again.”
Encounters of subtle ignorance were frequent which confounded Jemimah after moving to Texas. “I remember some kid asking my daughter in school, ‘You know how to chew gum?’ That’s the kind of ignorance they showed. People have even asked whether we lived in trees, “ said Jemimah. Many are also surprised that she can speak English so well even though it is one of Kenya’s national languages. “People think that there’s a lot of backwardness but you’d be amazed if you went to Nairobi. You’d almost have the same feel in some places.” Even though many people in Texas are not aware of the similarities the city of Nairobi may have to other cities in the United States, her daughter was well prepared for the questions. “For some reason, my daughter was able to stand up for herself. The fact that some kids would come from a place of ignorance, she was able to adjust very well because we had exposed her back home to a lot of things.”
After suffering abuse from a previous relationship, Jemimah sought help to propel her into the next chapter of her life. She decided to go to Hope Alliance, an organization that offers support, counseling, and resource connections to people who have been in abusive situations. It was here that she was referred to Dress for Success.
Dress for Success became an invaluable resource for Jemimah. Living in a new country made her realize that finding a job was very different in the United States than in Kenya and required different strategies and techniques that she was not used to. “I realized very fast that I didn’t understand the job market here. Even the way you create your resumes because we have a way of doing things back at home. So I needed to understand how to interview here and brand myself to make me employable. So that was crucial for me,” she said. In order to gain the knowledge that she needed, she attended many of the classes and embraced most of the coaching. As a result, in a very short time, her work and dedication paid off. She received a contracting job at Dell six weeks later and acquired even more support from the nonprofit. “The minute you get a job, they’ll do an interview suiting with you. They’ll give you all the necessary gear you need, whether it’s a purse, shoes, or whatever. They dress you up from head to toe basically.”
Acquiring a job allowed Jemimah to join the nonprofit’s Professional Women’s Group, further enhancing her knowledge and skills every month. “This is a group that empowers you, that grows you through their various programs. I remember I took a financial literacy class where they taught you how to budget, do your retirement, build your credit, and do everything financial. And besides that, they have various volunteers who come from different organizations to give talks. They’ll give talks on how to brand yourself on social media. We learn about anything from stress management to dressing, to etiquette, to you name it,” she said appreciatively. Convening once a month also gives her the flexibility to attend all of the meetings while also keeping in touch with her friends. “Although sometimes we are not always in contact, I have made good friends there. During the meetings, you’re able to share your stories and get people to encourage you who have probably walked the same road. We get an opportunity to empower others and support each other in the group. It’s a very important place, a place of no judgment, encouragement, and personal growth.”
Dress for Success’s holistic approach is a critical part of Jemimah’s flourishing experience and results. She attributes much of her wins to the organization’s focus to uplift every aspect of a woman. “One time, we went to Sephora to just be shown how to do makeup that makes you look natural. So it’s basically everything to make you feel whole again as a woman, be it beauty or brains or whatever it is. They aim at helping you grow your career and in general as a woman, in all areas that are possible.”
Jemimah started her employment as a contractor at Dell, but now she works full-time at another global IT company as a recruitment coordinator. While working full time and raising two children, she amazingly finds time to goes to school online studying behavioral health science to complement her counseling psychology degree. After graduating, she plans to pursue a graduate degree in occupational therapy and become an occupational therapist. She’s not sure exactly where that will take her, but she reluctantly remains open to leaving Round Rock if necessary. “I might have to go temporarily to the school I would be admitted, could be Dallas or San Antonio, not very far, still in Texas. But after I go to school for two and a half years, I don’t know if I’d stay. It depends on how I feel, but this is my first choice, being in Round Rock. It just depends on what opportunities might open.”
As we discuss her dreams, they come across as very responsible and unpretentious, yet extraordinarily fulfilling and sincere. “I want to make sure that I am secure in terms of retirement, give back to society, and enjoy what I’m doing. I want to be in a place of encouragement and occupational therapy is mainly a career where you help people get back to their lives either after injury or sudden trauma.” Dress for Success has clearly given her the confidence to figure out who she wanted to be, clarify her focus on accomplishing it, and attain the freedom to pursue it. “I have been empowered. I am able to stand and still take care of my responsibilities. So I can say that I had come from a place of feeling hopeless when I just got here, to a place of encouragement, to finding a home that gave me direction. And I believe everything happens for a reason. Even ending up in this town where I was able to find that Dress for Success. I feel very privileged just being part of them.”
2022 Update:
As I reconnected with Jemimah in Feb 2022, I noticed that even though much has changed in the past three years, her magnetic spirit has not. She is still the same woman who inspires me and many others with her wise words.
She adjusted well during the pandemic since she was fortunate to be in a position that previously allowed her to work from home. Her daughter is now a high school graduate and her son is already in 5th grade. A new promotion has placed her in an excellent position to purchase her first house. Excitingly, she expects to move in at the end of the summer.
Presently, Jemimah serves as a global ambassador representative for Dress for Success and now tells her story to inspire others and encourage ways to donate. Her story becomes more powerful as time goes on because of her tenacity, positive attitude, and constant awareness that others had a hand in helping her reach her goals. “I would say Dress For Success laid a foundation that helped me become successful in the way I wanted to be. As you listen to my story, I have acquired a lot just because they gave me a springboard.” Her ability to buy a house and a new car directly resulted from taking the financial budgeting class the organization offered since it notably assisted with credit building. “I can say those are material things, but I have also grown as a person because there is no way you can go through such development without you, yourself, getting changed.”
Even though Jemimah has evolved as a person, she remains steadfast in what drives her. She still wants to grow in employee relations and be secure in retirement. But what motivates her the most is inspiring, encouraging, and helping others to be better. Her mission is to continue to grow and help others feel confident enough to move to the next level regardless of their current situation. As someone who went through the Dress for Success program, she knows how pivotal it can be and how it can change the trajectory of someone’s life. “In different capacities, they help empower women while we open up opportunities for others coming behind us. I would say Dress for Success is like a doorway. You come through there to go to other places.” And where she is going seems to only get better and brighter.