YWCA Women of Excellence: Christina Schmitt

What inspires you?

Inspiration can come from everywhere and sometimes we do not even realize it! One of my biggest inspirations is for people to succeed and reach their goals that I have helped lead, managed or mentored. That is part of my success, too, and is the ultimate motivation for me.

What advice do you have for others?

I think one of the most important things is we have to accept we will always face challenges in our professional and personal lives. We have to remember we will get through them and have more strengths and skills then we had going into the challenge. Keep your head up high and if its too overwhelming to look too far in the future, just take it one day at a time.

What is the greatest lesson you have learned on your journey?

My greatest lesson I have learned is there is almost always a positive that comes out of every situation. We might not see it at the time, but it is there. There is so much to learn from every journey, and sometimes we have to take the time to reflect to find that lesson.

What does your vision for our community look like?

My vision is to have a community our kids are proud of. This includes providing more education opportunities to give our children the ability to develop more skills. I see business growth to give our kids opportunities to utilize their skills and make Topeka their home.

What does "Equal - Powerful - Unstoppable" mean to you?

This sums up everything we are and we should be! This is an attitude we all need to adopt and remove all roadblocks so we are equal, we are powerful and we are unstoppable.