The women of YWA met the embodiment of Women Crush Wednesday at September’s general meeting.
Catherine Morse, the General Counsel and Director of Public Affairs at Samsung Austin Semiconductor, spoke about her resiliency and reminded members to be mindful about what we believe about ourselves.
Growing up, as the youngest of three kids, she admits she was not as academically inclined as her siblings who went on to attended Rice University in Houston and Emory University in Atlanta. Despite that, she used her lack of aptitude, according to multiple tests saying she was, to drive her. She would tell herself, “I’m smart enough for this!” And she was.
After her undergraduate degree at Louisiana State University, Catherine went on to law school at the University of Houston and made the law review.
She said her inferiority complex was holding her down. Catherine realized early on in her career that service and joining boards of charities helped her gain her confidence.
“We got to find those abilities’ of success and build on those success,” she said.
After law school, Catherine joined a firm in Houston and subsequently moved to Austin with her husband and toddler Mitch.
Eventually, her second son Robbie joined the family. After being severely injured by his nanny, Robbie became disabled at four months old.
She described the event as a nightmare and went to her faith to try to find healing.
“What we learned is that there is such a thing called healing without a cure,” Catherine said.
The resiliency showed by her and her family allowed her to lead and serve in her community. She began working with Any Baby Can and Goodwill Industries of Central Texas. Catherine is also serves as the board chair of United Way of Greater Austin.
She did offer this advise in regards to dealing with a traumatic family issue, to accept things that happen to us and move forward; cope.
Catherine pivoted the conversation to offering career advice.
When receiving criticism, before taking it personally, think if the person providing the feedback is qualified and if you trust this person’s opinion. She also advised to have strong social groups, because your friend’s could be the one to offer you a job – as it happened to Catherine.
After her first job at Vinson & Elkins LLP in Houston, every job after that was a result of her relationships with former co-workers – so, always be nice to your co-workers!
Here are other words of wisdom by Catherine:
“Better to be nice than right.”
“What is a bad day other than a physical construct in our heads?”
“There is no substitute for living your life with a clear conscience.”
“Mean people suck.”
“Don’t lower your standards, lower your expectations.”
