In a world filled with accomplished people, Jennifer Johnson Gerenraich has never ceased to amaze me.

Raised in Miami in the ‘70s, Jennifer was exposed to people from all walks of life, from other small, Jewish families to children of wealthy drug dealers. She said, “I was only one of maybe four Jewish kids in my high school. I was ‘gringa’.” Life in Miami during the height of the drug rush was not easy; rampant crime filled the streets not too far from my mother’s house, and ethnic tensions in schools were high. Nevertheless, my mother persevered, thrived, finding a way to go to college, pay for it, and support herself. Proudly, she noted, “I felt so independent. I moved to Nashville with my brother and his friends for a while. We felt on top of the world.” In the words of Drake, she, “Started from the bottom, now we’re here.” After a few years, my brother and I entered her life. She managed to purchase a small house in northern Florida, take care of us, and hold a full-time job all at the same time. Through true grit, she single-handedly raised my brother and I for almost five years, until my mother met my dad. We moved to Chicago, and she went back to school to get a masters. Jennifer said, “I always want to learn more. Lifelong learning is one of my passions.” Always striving for more, she then started her own handbag company because to her, she would rather try and not succeed than live her life asking, ‘what if.’

I look up to my mother’s hunger to succeed, her desire to better herself and support those around her, a level of selflessness that only a mother could truly understand. Her compassion, honesty, and true grit, just some of her defining characteristics, give me a standard to strive for. I am thankful to have such a wonderful woman in my life.