Sumyyah Bilal is one of the best known and most beloved leaders in the field of career development and career information. Through her early career in education and career guidance, taking the helm at EUREKA.org, and EUREKA’s sponsorship of the California Career Conference (which morphed into the International Career Development Conference), Sumyyah has mentored, nurtured, educated, challenged and befriended thousands (tens of thousands?) of people involved in the careers field.
As anyone who has spent more than five minutes with Sumyyah knows, she could make her living as a profession raconteur to rival Mark Twain. As someone who has listened to and enjoyed hours of her story-telling, it was an easy decision to ask that Sumyyah’s contribution to the “Women in Industry, Today and Tomorrow…” issue of the Career and Adult Development Journal (CADJ), be her personal story. Sumyyah came of age and professionally prospered in a much different age than that of her foremothers. Like one of my other African American heroines, Shirley Chisholm, the phrase, “Can’t be done,” is not in Sumyyah’s vocabulary.
Sumyyah’s life and the story she shared with us here and in the CADJ have been much shaped by her maternal grandmother, who admonished her from an early age to make life better for her people. Her grandmother would be proud how Sumyyah has done just that.
However, Sumyyah would never be content with such a narrow vision. She has improved the lives of all who have heard her infectious laugh, been informed, encouraged and connected with careers through EUREKA, and been challenged to take their lives and futures into their own hands and in positive directions. Thousands of us are better humans and better professionals for having Sumyyah before us modeling how to balance our spiritual and professional lives, how to create new worlds of possibility for clients, students and ourselves, and beckoning us to follow her lead into a mindset where “Can’t be done,” is not in our vocabulary.
Carol Christen, author of What Color Is Your Parachute for Teens
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