We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Leigha Wickham. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Leigha below.
Hi Leigha, thank you so much for opening up with us about some important, but sometimes personal topics. One that really matters to us is overcoming Imposter Syndrome because we’ve seen how so many people are held back in life because of this and so we’d really appreciate hearing about how you overcame Imposter Syndrome.
Fake it. Seriously, in the beginning I had to fake confidence. To better understand let me provide some context.
My disdain for authority began honestly, when my Grandpa would badmouth my Mom. My questionable belief in authority grew outside of my family unit when the local police department ran a sting operation on my Dad. Grandpa had a bar at home and had people over all of the time. The detective working the operation knew my Grandpa and made himself a regular at my Grandpa’s bar. You see, my Grandpa loved and idolized Big John Wayne, he hated the fact my Dad wore his hair long and didn’t really want to follow in his footsteps. Grandpa loathed my Mom and blamed her for turning his son against the family way. The detective was privy to all of this family drama and made false promises to my Grandpa stating things like, “if we bust him (Dad) now maybe he can make a turn for the better.” Here’s the catch, the detective, so focused on his bust he never sent social services to check in on the kids. I do not believe this to be an oversight, the authorities never cared, they just wanted their bust.
If the inner-workings of my domestic life were not enough to cultivate a lack of trust of people in power, the DARE program certainly did. The Drug Awareness and Resistance Education program along with the implementation of school officers solidified the philosophy my grade school brain was beginning to comprehend; these people were not there to help, not there to help my family at least.
When Mom found out about DARE we had one of the only family discussions I remember ever having. We sat around the table and Mom explained if we told the DARE officer at school what went on at home, we would be taken away from her.
We are products of our environment. My Mom and Dad are/were not bad people. Let’s just say the crack epidemic of the time was not centralized to the big city, it was everywhere.
Fast forward 9 years, that same detective, now sheriff with a new sidekick was on my trail. Yes, I became my environment, what a surprise. At 17 years old I was charged with my one and only Felony,
Getting the “F” didn’t get me sober. When I first received the label Felon, I internalized it. I kept up with my same old shit and almost became a better criminal. Instead, in jail I worked on getting my GED. Today I am a college graduate; the CEO of Mile High Legal Assist, LLC and the founder of the MHLA Center, a Colorado Non-Profit.
Imposter syndrome haunted me through college, the self talk, “who do you think you are here?” I pushed through. I took an internship with the Colorado Organization for Victims Assistance (COVA), they placed me with the 18th Judicial District Attorney’s Office, F@#k Me. I’m sitting across a desk from 5 prosecutors explaining my felony. I was hired. What?
I rolled with that internship for a year working on the felony docket assisting as an advocate for domestic violence victims. Full circle. When my internship was up I was hired on full time as a Legal Assistant. I stayed with the office until the election, then I bounced.
Working as a professional in a District Attorney’s Office with a felony label I experienced major imposter syndrome. I never got too close to my co-workers as they might find out I’m a criminal. Bummer, because I met some of the coolest people in that office, to my surprise.
I entered into Civil Law after my run at the DA’s office. This time I was honest about my past and I was accepted by my peers. This is when I began to believe in myself. It took compassion from other humans to see I was not a bad person; I never was.
Through perseverance and straight up acting I overcame my imposter syndrome.
I am not a bad b*tch, I’m an okay b*tch and I’m okay with that.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
We lost Dad when I was 10 years old, it was sudden and tragic. Mom now a single mother raising two girls we received social security checks and food stamps. We were not poor, we were broke. Mom taught us how to love big. I became big sister and tried to fill in where Dad left a giant hole. I became obsessed with home decorating and audio visual equipment; I figured out how to give our living room surround sound using old speakers and a receiver I found. We lived in poverty.
I began the MHLA Center to pass on to others the knowledge and understanding I gained while trudging my path up and out of poverty and impoverished thinking.
The Center is organized to help bridge the poverty gap by providing a path to economic security for those experiencing hardship offering occupational training focused on building administrative skills and refining interpersonal relations while providing a safe space for wellness.
At the MHLA Center we believe in honor.
The Center was founded in the spirit of label removal.
Individuals in our society are given labels, these labels are designed by the system (our government) to keep people in their respective lane, to keep people in belief of limitations; knowing the people will self impose these constructed beliefs by accepting the label.
This is not an error in the system, this is the plan. A plan to keep the people controllable, to keep the people sick, to keep the people poor.
Tabula Rasa theory – individuals are born without built-in mental content, and therefore all knowledge comes from experience or perception. We need to forget everything we “know” and learn for ourselves.
The Center offers workshops and mentorship focused in the field of legal services. Legal services span from process of service to litigation trial support. Mile High Legal Assist (MHLA) provides employment opportunities to those who participate and excel in the programs at the Center.
The MHLA Center provides in person mentorship to the women housed in the Colorado Department of Corrections as economic security is a must in the battle against recidivism.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
“Knowledge reigns supreme over nearly everyone.” KRS-One.
I tend to question most decisions made by people in authority, conformity scares the shit out of me, complacency, even worse.
I question myself, often. What are my intentions and why? Is ego fed by my actions or am I moving toward selflessness? I ground, journal and meditate, I try to listen, yes listening takes effort. I get honest about the not so great things, my anger and rage. I sit with and identify my feelings. I process my thoughts around my feelings. I share those revelations about my person with the people who matter, building relationships and trust.
Without knowledge of self one is left wandering this lifetime.
As we end our chat, is there a book you can leave people with that’s been meaningful to you and your development?
Charlotte’s Web by E.B White is my go to book. This book takes me back to the person I was before all this life happened. As a misunderstood kid I totally felt Wilbur. I battled with abandonment issues as a young child, Wilbur’s childlike and playful perspective on his impending doom gave me a laugh. Some Pig! Charlotte, my hero! I channel Charlotte as a mentor, she is kind, wise and shows herself to be a faithful friend and a patient teacher. Templeton provided me some insight into the capitalist society we inhabit, he prepared me for reality. In the end Charlotte dies however, generations are impacted by her wisdom passed down in the barn and the friendship she specifically had on Wilbur.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.milehighlegalassist.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mhla_center/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leigha-wickham-765b78a5/
Image Credits
Ashley Nagel IG: _this_is_different_enough_
