In light of International Women’s Day on March 8th, Her Campus Lasell found it necessary to highlight the woman that has impacted our lives or who we see making a difference for their community for this week (and every day). In this Empowering Woman Series, we have chosen to interview students, friends, family, and professors about what they do and what it’s like being bada** empowering women.
When talking to Claudia Matthew she seemed very modest about her life accomplishments. During the interview, she recalls her important and influential moments in her life.
Growing up Matthew wanted to be a nurse that worked with the elderly, after graduating high school she went to school to become a medical assistant. That job fulfilled her desire to work in the medical field and opened many doors for her.
She was able to move from New Jersey to California to work with handicap adults. During her career in that position, she helped teach life skills to them like shopping, resumes, apartment hunting and banking. She thought it was an important job because many did not have a family and was happy to see their success in life. She said, “I enjoyed being a medical assistant, working in the medical field and being able to teach life skills.”
When asked about her life’s biggest accomplishment, Matthew said that it was raising her two daughters. She was always working to help provide for her children and that was one of the most important things for her. She worked at the Coast Guard when her children were little. But later worked as an assistant Chef for Yale University, after moving to Connecticut.
When she found out she had cancer, she was later transferred to Security at the Yale Art Gallery, where she was able to recover and is currently cancer-free. She worked at the Yale Art Gallery until her retirement in 2017.
Matthew said that the person who inspired her was her Aunt Catherine Curtis. When she was growing up, her Aunt was a central figure in her life. Curtis was always there to help the family. She was a woman who stuck to her principles and didn’t let other people influence her decisions.
She was an independent woman who owned her own car and had a job, in a time when that wasn’t common. Matthew said she was a strong woman recalls the pressure Curtis had to marry at a young age. Curtis would not compromise her values and standards, later she was married and had children.
Matthew’s advice to young people to “not compromise your integrity, morals or beliefs to get ahead”. They shouldn’t have to compromise that to be able to move ahead and progress in life.
Currently, Matthew is retired after a long life of hard work. Her final comment was “The most exciting time of my life is now because I can travel and do things.” While working she realized other people were saving up for retirement and decided to follow suit. She advises everyone to save up for retiring.
Her recent trips have been to Iceland, Spain, and Cuba. We can’t wait to see where life takes her next.