In celebration of Women's History Month this March, Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) spoke with three successful women with astounding stories for an edition of "Unmuted With Marsha" that was shared with Townhall. Those women included Dr. Nancy Dishner, the president and CEO of the Niswonger Foundation, which focuses on public education; Dr. Carol Swain, an author and commentator who experienced abject poverty and went from high school dropout to being a tenured professor at the elite universities of Princeton and Vanderbilt; and Rep. Diana Harshbarger of Tennessee's 1st Congressional District. All three women have doctorates.
The women focused not only on their accomplishments, but on the obstacles they faced in order to get there. Not only did Dr. Swain experience the poverty that she did, but she also was born during segregation. She did grow up during and benefit from the Civil Rights movement, as she attended segregated schools until the 6th grade. "I came through at a time when the messages out there were, if you worked hard and got an education, you could make something outta yourself, and the emphasis was on making something outta yourself," she pointed out. Because of the poverty in her family, Swain got married at 16, "to get away from home," and became a mother. "My life has been a life that I did not anticipate," she shared, adding "life is fill of obstacles."
Although she said she did not "know Him" until she was in her 40s, Swain was able to speak to how "God has always been in my life" and that it was "by faith and the fact that God's hand was on me from my birth, that that had a lot to do with steering me to the point that I am what many people consider a success story."
Dishner also shared how her own parents "both grew up in poverty" and were the first in their family to achieve an education. She also "grew up with a mom who really didn't allow anything to be an obstacle. It was always an opportunity," something she said she appreciated, adding "I was very blessed to pick the right parents."
The opportunity provided by getting an education proved to be a theme. Harshbarger shared how she was actually the first one in her family to graduate from high school, and then she went on to go to college and also professional school, "something I never dreamed of when I was a younger woman."
With the discussion focused on facing and overcoming obstacles, Harshbarger mentioned it has to do with someone encouraging you. She also spoke about how she's been a pharmacist and a Sunday school teacher. "And let me tell you, when you live a real life and when you run a successful business, there is nothing that can stand in your way," she shared, adding "when you get up here, that experience in real life, you can't put an obstacle in front of us that we can't tackle and try to take down."
The congresswoman spoke of how she encourages other women on how "we gotta get our priorities in order," which is God first, family second, and then "everything else falls in order." She offered that "when you do that, nothing is outside your reach."
When speaking further with the senator about overcoming those obstacles and adversity, Harshbarger also touched upon faith, which she called "a catalyst for every decision I make." She noted "I wouldn't be here if God didn't ordain that to happen."
Returning to the topic of powering through obstacles, Dishner shared how she was pregnant as a teenager, and began college as a mother. She made a particularly thoughtful point of what she learned through that process in that "we face the things we do as a way to teach us and prepare us for what is going to come next," as well as how "more importantly, it's what we learn from those lessons that then we can share with others."
Speaking of her role as a mentor, then, as a matter of how "God has been so gracious" when it comes to such an "opportunity," Dishner pointed out that "if I hadn't have had those life experiences and had not had adversity along the way, how would I possibly help them to be able to overcome where they are?"
Swain spoke further about what she mentioned earlier, about the role of God in her life, as she had "made a lot of mistakes," even turning to "suicide gestures" she was "rescued" from in her 20s. She was, however, "wired to have a can-do attitude," especially if someone told her she couldn't do something. Although she did get her PhD, it was not something she initially sought she explained. Further, the people who encouraged her were white and male, as she pointed out "the people that entered my life did not look like me." Rather than "get comfortable" with her first few degrees, Swain went on to get five.
While it took her 40 years "to have a Christian conversion experience," Swain still reminded "God was very much in my life." As she looks at her life, and her accomplishments, Swain pointed out "it was because God was there when I didn't know him. He was putting people in my life. They were steering me."
Swain wished to encourage people who may have dropped out of school, suffered from depression, come from poverty, are a minority and thus have been told they can't do certain things.
She also tellingly mentioned that "if I were a young person today, maybe I would've heard so often what I couldn't do as a woman." But instead, she said "I went out and I did what some people would say would've been impossible," including getting early tenure, the highest prize in her profession, and her "superstar signing bonus."
What does Blackburn think all those examples point to? "I think it just points to hard work," she offered, pointing out "you each have done that," as she called the three women "an inspiration."