Stella is one of Dress for Success Vancouver’s ten client ambassadors that will be walking the runway on May 9th at IMPACT 360 | Flourish. Her story of bravery and resilience is an inspiring example of what Dress for Success strives to accomplish with all the women that come through our doors. Stella is growing and flourishing with the Dress for Success Vancouver community and she is committed to her own personal growth. This is her story:
With a career portfolio in arts, culture and entertainment, my life looked glamorous and exciting until it all fell apart one day.
I was consumed with confusion and feelings of inadequacy. I knew intuitively that something had to change dramatically and that this shift would manifest itself from the inside out. At the time I was unaware that my breakdown would clear the way for my journey to transformation and that Dress for Success Vancouver (DFSV) would be an integral part of my self-actualization.
I was introduced to DFSV when I first heard about their fundraising initiative Shop for a Cause that offers designer clothing at unbeatable prices. I was delighted to discover that I could shop on my limited budget. This segued into my first DFSV dressing service appointment where I was pampered and walked away feeling like a million bucks. I was utterly impressed with the positive attitude and level of care that awaited me at the front door. It wasn’t until I joined the DFSV Professional Women’s Group (PWG) and became a fully immersed client that my life would start to shift in a direction that felt instinctively right for me.
I joined the PWG program in search of personal direction, answers and support in the area of my career life. What I didn’t anticipate was the positive ripple effect that would seep into every area of my life. I was welcomed into a sisterhood, tribe and community of compassionate staff, educators, mentors, and peers who were there to listen, support and encourage my every endeavour. My participation in various PWG workshops, presentations and networking events allowed me to discover core values, interests and passions that reflect who I am today.
My recent participation in the Express Yourself Public Speaking Workshop Series has been revolutionary for me. My knee jerk reaction was to run in the opposite direction; however the completion of this program was mandatory as a DFSV Ambassador. I was pushed well past my comfort zone, in order to develop a skill that I’d been painfully avoiding throughout my life. The end result was cathartic, liberating and creatively engaging. I’m deeply grateful to DFSV for plunging me into this unknown and in doing so, allowing me to expand in ways that I could never have imagined.
Reinventing myself has been an act of bravery. I like to think of myself as a self-guru advocate who defines wealth not in a quantitative context, but rather in a qualitative context. I define success as living a life of purpose and doing whatever it is that makes YOUR soul feel happy, alive and free. Setting my internal GPS in the right direction has been a process that has required commitment, work and my willingness to show up. Life unfolds not when we reach our destination, but in the actual journey itself and the ups and downs that we experience along the way. DFSV has inspired me to spread my wings and fly, and to become someone that I truly love. It’s my goal to pass my torch of inspiration onwards, to a woman in need. There is nothing more fulfilling to me than knowing that I too can make a difference in this world.
Join us on May 9th for IMPACT 360 | Flourish
Photo: Broda Photography
