by Brianna Adkins, photographs taken by Brianna Adkins and Hannah Katinsky
In early September, I decided to send out an email that would change my life. I reached out to Glamour to pitch my story to their staff to let me attend the Women of the Year Summit as press on behalf of Pretty Smart magazine and The Pace Press. I knew that my coverage would be leveraged to those two platforms and I knew how engaging that would be for our viewers. I expected nothing to come from it because I usually hear nothing back from these companies and cheer when I get rejected (at least they respond when you get rejected). This time was different.
Ten minutes before I had an internship interview for a position on Oct. 29th I got an email from Glamour’s team letting me know that I would be attending not only the summit but covering the red carpet and awards ceremony with a press pass. I immediately freaked out before having to gather myself—and my tears—for an interview I needed to nail. Spoiler: it went well.
After that interview, I let myself sob, but then I got to work. I prepared for a week before the events on Nov. 10 & 11, gathering a makeup professional, gowns from Rent the Runway, and tailoring my interview questions to fit the guests in attendance (to highlight their brilliance and not their appearance, of course).
Flash forward to now, and I’ve attended both events. I had the opportunity to bring along my friend and fellow The Pace Press journalist, Brooke Sufrin, to the summit with me. We had an absolute blast listening to the eloquent and powerful women detailing their life experiences during the panels of the day. I’m so grateful for that opportunity and will cherish it forever.
The red carpet and awards ceremony was a whole other story, though. My dear friend, Hannah Katinsky, traveled down to NYC from Pleasantville to be my friend and the Jaq & Gus to my Cinderella for the night. I truly treasure her. At the venue, I had the chance to interview Willow Shields, Niecy Nash, Margaret Atwood, and so many other brilliant women. I stood next to media professionals and worked it as hard as I could. After the awards show was over, I immediately sobbed upon realization of what I just witnessed—Chanel Miller giving her testimony via poetry, Megan Rapinoe calling out white supremacy and uplifting other marginalized voices, Yara Shahidi proving that the upcoming generation has so much power. It was so much to take in.
I’m now in my apartment reflecting on everything life has thrown at me lately and where I am in life. All I can say is how grateful I am for the people who support me and give me the chance to prove myself to this industry. I am so proud of myself. I never thought I would be where I am today, but I am and I’m proud of who I’m becoming.