Even as there is a growing recognition for the need for representation, there are still many cases where folks will find themselves as the only person in a room representing their particular demographic – and often there is pressure to perform in such contexts to prove competence not just for yourself but for everyone who is like you. The burden and the stress of being the “representer” is real, and so we wanted to create a space where folks can discuss who they go about ensuring they are effective and successful even in contexts where no one else on the team or in the room is like them.
Don Hoffa
I strive for greatness especially knowing that I myself am a brand therefore I must represent myself well enough to present to the world I like to look good as that is also a big part of my brand. Read more>>
Binamrata Bhandari
Thank you for this question. I love this question, especially because a big part of who I am today revolves around this. It wasn’t always easy but i emerged from it stronger and better than ever before. Read more>>
Carly Driver
I love this question! It’s no secret that the modeling and acting industry has tough competition, and after years in the industry, I have finally mastered how to be successful in my own unique way! Being the only one in the room that looks like me is a concept that I am very familiar with. Read more>>
Veena Krishnan
As a female founder of color and previously as a chemical engineer, I have often found myself to be the only person in the room that looks like me. I do have moments of self-doubt and imposter syndrome, which often make me feel like I have to work harder to justify my approach or POV. To overcome these feelings, especially when they creep up before an important meeting, I try to dedicate sufficient time to prepare in advance so that I can walk into the room with confidence, knowing I belong and add value to the conversation. Read more>>
Ekemini Gerdel
I think of the people that have come before me. My grandmother was married off when she was twelve years old. She escaped that marriage and met my grandfather and married him. When he left her, she raised four children by herself, in a mud hut in a small village in Nigeria. Her children, my father and my aunts are some of the hardest working people I know. Read more>>
Danny Henry
I am a shy person. As much as I will punish a piano and will sweat a gallon during a performance, off the stage, I can be awkward, clumsy, and talk too fast when I get nervous or excited. I’m a 6’1″ ball of anxiety who has always tried to fit it, but rainbows always stick out in black and white. Growing up, I was desperate to fit in with a crowd, but it always proved to be hard. Read more>>
Lindsey Lensy” Michelle”
New England isn’t exactly known for nontraditional weddings… (the understatement of the year!!). However, I think that being a nontraditional wedding photographer in a place where that isn’t the norm is actually really special! For me, it has meant that when someone finds my work, they usually don’t have a ton of other photographers they are considering. Read more>>
Robert Deuce” Tucker”
I have learned that being the minority indirectly means you have to work harder than everyone around you. While I already have a disadvantage because of the color of my skin, I refuse to have one because of the lack of knowledge. Not question can be a dumb, if asked correctly. Read more>>
LaTara Vernon
When I began my Health Equity career working in a corporate healthcare setting, I quickly learned how to implement the community voice and explain its importance because I now understood why decisions in communities of people who look like me turned out the way that they did. Read more>>
Ria Lu
Being unique in a room where everyone blends in is so special. You have the power to step outside of the box and into your light. At the end of the day, even if people do not say it, they wish they dared to do it too. Read more>>
Dom (Villa Dom) W
Indeed I have and allow me to dissect that with you all for a moment. In these said rooms where I have been the “one” I first learned to acknowledge we are all humans first. There after what any individuals race, size, ideals or point of views are they should have no direct effects on my contributions to any organization or cause that I am there to be effective and accomplish goals. Read more>>
Pamela Sams
I’ve learned to embrace my individuality and be confident that what I have to offer is very valuable. It’s about owning my presence and making sure my voice is heard. Read more>>
Michael Hanson
Commencing my entrepreneurial endeavors at the tender age of 17 presented me with hurdles that constantly challenged my confidence, abilities, and character development. Entering into the intricate realm of the financial services industry, I found myself constantly being the youngest individual in the room, further compounded by an absence of representation for the LGBTQ+ community. Read more>>
Kristian McNeal
Being the only one in the room, that looks like me, has had it’s challenges. Though growing up as a minority in my neighborhood, school system, sports team, church, etc has set me up for this. As being a minority I have learned to rise above challenge and have the challenge instead motivate me. Read more>>
Rasheda Weaver
It’s extremely important that each person takes time to become self-aware and to know what their purpose is in life. It’s hard to feel insecure in any room when you actually believe that God has put you there for a unique purpose, you trust your intuition, and you know that you are a valuable gift to anyone that you encounter. Read more>>
Joy Orleans
I’ve learned to see it as a blessing to be there! I show up as me, and if I am the only one that shows up as me I focus on being so excellent that the next person who comes along that looks like me is welcomed with open arms! Read more>>
Seneca “Sir Classic” Mcfarland
Well I learned being effective at an early age when I knew I wanted more in life and I knew that by obtaining more, I would have had to put action behind my thoughts and desires to be able to obtain my goals. Read more>>
Kris Bell
I always love finding ways stand out, it’s a fun release of expression for me! I’ve always loved trying to gear my style to be just slightly different from the rest. In stand up comedy I love wearing fancy top hats and blazers, because it’s fun for me, it makes me instantly recognizable and memorable. Read more>>
Mia J. Chong
As a Chinese American queer woman and choreographer, I have learned to reframe what it means to be the only one in the room that looks like me. While I once saw being different as a deficit, I now see it as the honor of being absolutely singular. Yes, it can be uncomfortable, frustrating, and difficult at times, but moving through these challenges with empathy and courage can sometimes help you find empowerment. Read more>>
Jing Huang
As a Chinese ceramic female artist, navigating spaces where I am the sole representative of my appearance has been both a challenge and an opportunity for growth. This experience has allowed me to contribute to the broader artistic dialogue while staying true to my identity. Read more>>
Samantha Peck
I knew when I started an outdoor gear brand that I was entering a male-dominated industry. While for some being the only woman in the room might be intimidating, I chose to use it to my advantage and to represent this minority. Read more>>
Joshua Higginbotham
Being a music artist and producer and reaching success in that field was hard work, however a lot of people who have talent that look like me gain major success in the entertainment business referring to music. I’d say when I decided to apply to UCLA I’d have my first experience of being in a place where there weren’t a lot of students that looked like me. Read more>>
Ronnie Spice
This has taken me many years to except myself and to truly appreciate the rare form I am, once this fell into place so did everything else. But it is always a constant work in progress and process I have to work to keep up, it would be impossible for me to reflect effectiveness and success to others if I did not posses that for myself first. I have to take care of myself and that can be easier said then done at times. Read more>>
Ebony Whitson
Being the only one in the room that looks like meant that I had to develop confidence in my skills, knowledge, and expertise. At times, due to my skin color, I’ve been unjustly perceived as uneducated or uninformed in my field. Read more>>
Arielle Rebekah
I am the only trans feminine person in most rooms I enter. In my early 20s, I thought that was a weakness: I would have given anything to blend in, to be just like the other women in the room. As I’ve grown older, I’ve realized it’s a major strength: Read more>>
Jarrell Pyro Johnson
I have learned to be effective and successful when I’m the only me in any room or setting by channeling my inner King like greatness and embracing my uniqueness with confidence and flair. Instead of feeling intimidated or overshadowed by others, I use my individuality as a strength, bringing a fresh perspective and creative approach to any situation. Read more>>
Christine Lee Smith
At the beginning of my photography career I attended a training workshop for wedding photographers. The primary advice given at the beginning of the workshop was to be extroverted, outgoing, and become friends with your clients. Read more>>
Jennifer Rosado
Being the only one in the room who looks like me has taught me invaluable lessons about effectiveness and success. Far from being a deterrent, these situations ignite a spark within me, serving as the match that lights the fuel of my drive. Read more>>
Kendall Robinson
I fully attribute my self esteem and confidence to my education I received from Howard University. At Howard, I was put in a pool of people who were just as if not more successful, motivated, and confident as myself. The skills that you learn at HBCUs and specifically Howard are intangible and ingrained to the point where you can’t help but be influenced and inspired. Read more>>
Liam Smith
Just Be Honest: people pick up on intention more than anything else. If you move with honesty, whether that’s in your actions or your art, or your work, the right people will always pick up on it. Read more>>
Carla Williams Johnson
If I am being perfectly honest, this was extremely hard to overcome. I was constantly seeking out persons who not only looked like me but sounded like me too. Persons who were unafraid to let the world know they were Caribbean, but sadly there were few and far between, It also didn’t help when others to. Read more>>
Anne Wright
Growing up plus-size in a country where the average woman is considered tiny by Western standards has been very difficult. Thanks to the love and support from my husband, I have learned how to see myself as a beautiful person inside and out. Read more>>
Julian Santos
Filipino-American filmmaker. This term has followed me around ever since I started making movies. It’s an apt term, no doubt: I am the American-born son of two Filipino immigrants who have struggled and persevered to make a life in the United States. But, as an artist, I’ve long reckoned with what it meant: how did this affect my art. Read more>>
Carl Leatherberry Jr
Though life’s continuance , not just to existence , but the opportunity to prepare, like a sauce and it’s viscosity thin or thick. Growing up in my environment at that time there was not a lot of space to accomplish dreams, or success, or so I through. Read more>>
Kylen Dent
The short answer? Practice! Some of my proudest accomplishments were a result of venturing off the beaten-path. Growing up, it was regular for me to seek out a sense of community or belonging to something bigger (even if I didn’t have immediate proximity to said community). Read more>>
Martina Gaglione
It has always been clear to me that power, creativity, choices, come within you, first. Being called different and feeling that, has always been the best compliment to receive. Challening, but helpul to decunstruct pre-cooked behaviours and actions. I’ve learnt and I’m learning to trust my intuition as my only guide, and make a bunch of mistakes, and that my productivity doesn’t measure my worth or value. Read more>>
David Glenn Brown
Throughout my career, I have been the only black in the room, I learned how to navigate through environments where I was often marginalized, overlooked and underestimated. I realized early on that what ever success I was to have, I would have to create it myself and work much harder then my white peers. Read more>>
Diane Schroeder
I spent over half my life in the 96% male-dominated fire service as a new hire; I was so worried about fitting in that I went along to get along. I wanted to be accepted and was willing to dim my light, keep my mouth shut, and not show up as my genuine self. When I started promoting into leadership roles, I realized how exhausting it was to be two different people. Read more>>
Josh Ray
It is no secret that I am pretty out there! I love fun hair colors, tattoos, and crazy clothes! I am energetic and outgoing in everything that I do and that is something that isn’t always that common around here. Read more>>
Dr. Nekita Sullivan
The American Physical Therapy Association, black doctors of physical therapy make up 4% of the practicing physical therapists in the U.S. I had the privilege of practicing in many settings in traditional insurance-based physical therapy including hospitals, outpatient clinics, retirement communities, and home health. Read more>>
Holly Ross
Now that is a good question. I started my business just about a year and a half into my OT career and at 25 years old. Something that I do not hear many people doing and currently, don’t know anyone who’s taken a similar path so fast like me in my field. I do find it difficult to not know other people like me, it definitely makes it hard to find personal friends that walk a similar professional life. Read more>>
Trell “The Original Cocoa Goddess”
I’ve learned to accept all the positive parts of me. I accepted my uniqueness and individuality at a very young age. Different is good. Change is great! I’ve learned to teach others what I know and to be a good learner as well. Read more>>
