Happy International Women’s Day! Today we celebrate the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. We are also strengthening the call for greater women’s equality across the world. 

 

I’ve been blessed to have many women role models in my life, but none who have been more important to me than my mom, Sandy. 

 

My mother started and owned her own private practice in counseling, and cared for my younger sister and me throughout the week, as my father had a job that required him to travel extensively. She entered a field of work—vocational rehabilitation counseling—at a time when few women were in the profession. 

 

My mom was young and ambitious, and after working for a large corporation in her field, she took a chance on herself and opened her own practice. She became a successful expert witness with offices in Grand Rapids and in Metro Detroit, and worked on numerous high-profile cases, including helping those who suffered from catastrophic injuries due to the Ford River Rouge Complex explosion in the 1990s. Not only was she dedicated to her career and continuing education, having earned a Ph.D. in counselor education in 2011, but she was also extremely committed to raising her two daughters to be independent yet family-oriented. 

One of my fondest memories of childhood is our Monday night routine that we had when my sister and I were kids. After a long day at public school, my mother would pick us up and take us to a quick dinner, usually at a local Coney Island, and we would rush off to Armenian language school. After several hours of school, my sister and I were on edge and missed our dad who was traveling for the week, so my mom would often surprise us by pulling out every snack food, often frozen Girl Scout cookies, and we'd lay on the floor in our family room and watch Nickelodeon cartoons way past our bedtime. She would usually stay up after us to fold a load of laundry, pay bills, or get our things ready for school the next day. 

 

My mom’s ability to seemingly "do it all" is something that I'll always admire. I know it was never easy, but the grace with which she parented us and managed her career makes her undoubtedly my hero, and someone I’m proud to celebrate on International Women’s Day.

 

Rep. Mari Manoogian