The Boss

Tall, Southern, Intimidating, Smart, Fierce, Female. Those are all words that describe a boss who left a lasting impact on me.

I was young, just twenty years old and still living in the small New Hampshire town I grew up in. I started a new job at a rural health care center as a medical records clerk. A few short months after I started, a new boss was hired for our practice.

Enter Sharon. She was tall and slender and had a strong southern accent, originating from Texas. Saying things like, "Fixin' to," and "Y'all" on a regular basis. Where did this woman come from? Who did she think she was coming to New Hampshire and trying to take over our office?

While she was raised in Texas, she had come in from Kansas like a tornado. She shook up the office, changing policies and procedures and implementing new software systems. She was intimidating, but she seemed to take a special interest in me. I remember her calling me into her office and being so nervous, but what she really wanted to know was what my goals were. She asked me this, something even my own parents had never really asked me.

At twenty, I should have been in college like so many of my friends, but I wasn't. Both my older sisters had gone, but I seemed to get stuck somewhere along the way. Even though I had always liked school, I was more of an introvert and flew under the radar in high school. I never pushed to see my advisor or reached out to get the guidance I needed when it came to college applications, so it never happened. I watched my boyfriend and all my friends do it, but for some reason something stopped me from taking that step and I lacked the push of encouragement I needed to move forward.

This was the first time someone really asked me what I wanted to be and what I wanted to do with my life. At my young age, I still had no idea, I felt lost. She encouraged me to pursue medical office administration options and even promoted me to a supervisory role within my department. While I never got a degree, she continued to offer me a variety of stepping stones throughout the fifteen years I worked for her. I was even her direct administrative assistant during a portion of that time.

She was tough and some days made me want to cry or pack up all my stuff and quit, but I never did. While she was hard, she was also incredibly supportive. She taught me so many things, I would never have enough time to list them all. The respect that I hold for her is immeasurable.

Many years have passed and while I took my career elsewhere and she has semi-retired and moved, I still consider her a friend and enjoy the times we are able to catch up through social media.