Women’s History Month: Paula Geruntino, Customer Relations Manager

“I have been fortunate to grow up under the leadership of many remarkable women whose guidance and example taught me to set high standards and hold firmly to my ideals.”

I have been fortunate to grow up under the leadership of many remarkable women whose guidance and example taught me to set high standards and hold firmly to my ideals. One was my favorite college professor, Dr. Jeannette Heritage. When she overheard me telling another student I had applied for a work-study scholarship, she wrote a letter to the financial aid director requesting that I be assigned to her when I was awarded the scholarship. I don’t know if I would have been able to finish school without that scholarship! I could not have achieved the professional success I have without her influence.

I have always been attracted to stories of women who pushed boundaries of what our society expected a woman to be, like Eleanor Roosevelt, Amelia Earhart and Katherine Hepburn. They broke down barriers to make a path for women beyond their circles of influence, and still didn’t give up their femininity. They added depth and dimension to the feminine character, and emboldened talented, intelligent women to courageously walk through doors that were closed to them. I am grateful for the mark they left on American history. I am a part of their legacy.