The following was excerpted from Roxine Chambers’ speech at the Distinguished Women’s Award Celebration.

My name is Roxine Chambers, and I have received an amazing opportunity to shadow Mary Ann Scully for the day. Mary Ann Scully is the chairman, President and CEO of Howard bank, so I was very excited about spending the entire day with her.  I have found her to truly be an inspiration, not just to me, but to all those around her.

Our day began by attending a conference, designed to help Howard Bank build relations. There was an inspirational speaker who spoke that morning, Misti Burmeister, and she stated something that really touched me. She said “Everyone has greatest built in them, but sometimes they need someone to pull it out” and by spending the day with Mary Ann Scully, she has exposed me to my greatest, which has greatly encouraged me. Also, by attending this conference not only did I received this great message, I met Misti Burmeister, and I have kept in contact with her.

After attending this conference, I would have been completely satisfied if that was the only thing we got to do all day, because by going to this conference, I learned a very valuable lesson that I will definitely take with me. I was also able to see Mrs. Scully in action. She showed what a true leader was. Her speech was amazing and I noticed that when she walked into the room, everyone wanted to speak with her and she took the time out to make everyone feel comfortable. I was told by some of her closet employees that she is able to have a full day of work, consisting of meeting after meeting, and be ready to go the next day. She was described by some of her employees as strong, a great leader, and basically fearless. After the conference, we headed to her office, where I was able to see every aspect involved in running a bank. My magnet in school is business management and finance, so I was able to see and experience what I have been learning, which I truly appreciate and now I am even more sure of what I want to study after I graduate high school – how to be like Mary Ann Scully!! Just kidding Business Management. Mary Ann Scully have shown me what is like to live loving others, while loving what you do.

Since I started high school, three years ago, I had wanted to become a shadow girl, for someone incredible. In ninth grade I was not chosen and in tenth grade I missed the deadline, but I decided I was not going to allow this opportunity to pass me by this year , especially when I found out that Mary Ann Scully was up to be a mentor. So I made sure I was on time with my essay and application, and that I was prepared for the interview. My shadow day experience was marvelous. It was a pleasure to have Ms. Mary Ann Scully be my shadow day mentor. This experience has not only exposed me to the world of banking, but has given me a deeper understanding of how the concept of banking connects to our personal life. I have learned that in banking it all about “risks” and “responsibility”. As Mrs. Scully said, “risk is all about growing” meaning banking comes with a lot of risk, and for Mrs. Mary Ann Scully, she has a lot of people, not only investors and shareholders, but also employees who are relying on her. However, she has taken many risks which have allowed her to have these responsibilities.

I can personally say that I was never really the person who would allow herself to take risks. For most of middle school I felt as though I was too shy, too introverted to open up to people. In ninth grade, I would NEVER raise my hand in class and had a hard time forming new friendships. You may ask why? My answer is simply I was scared of rejection. I was scared to fail. I was scared to take a risk. This opportunity as open my eyes to see the benefits of how taking risk can help one grow. If I had not taken the risk to write an essay, send in my application, and practice for my interview, after being denied three times, I would not have had this opportunity. So I say to all, risks is all about growing to a higher level in whatever you do, so how can we expect to grow if we don’t take risks. I am a very persistent girl scout and Mrs. Scully has taught me that it is okay to be a risk taker, even if you’re not sure about the outcome. Mary Ann Scully presently serves as the Vice President of the board and Executive Committee of Catholic Charities, is the co-chair of the Corporate campaign and a board member of Kennedy Krieger Institute. She also does so much more for her community.  I would continue, but I’ll end by saying that Mary Ann Scully is not just an inspiration to me, but to all those around her. and I want to thank her for allowing me to be her Shadow girl and all that she has taught me will go to good use.