In this episode of Say It Skillfully, Molly engages in an empowering conversation with Shalimar Adorno. Born to a 17-year-old mother in the South Bronx, Shalimar recounts not knowing where their next meal would come from, and not being able to safely play outside. She speaks fondly of 18 months living in Puerto Rico, where she could ride her unicycle outside, and food could always be found. Despite growing up in poverty, Shalimar highlights the richness of family ties and necessity of fearlessness and hope, and how her parents moved them always in search of a different beginning for a better life.
She talks about pivotal people without whom pivotal doors wouldn't have opened, a dark decade after her brother was brutally killed, and how she came to peace with it. Shalimar shares how she went from Spanish major and cohesive Hispanic community at Penn State to investment banking, and found her way to a life-changing role at the World Bank. She implores, "vulnerability is courage" and "bring your own folding chair when there isn't a seat at the table." Don't miss this story of heart, grit, and resilienceā€”from a life not knowing abundance to the deepest appreciation of it.
