Copyright Santa Clarita Valley Signal
Personal and professional trajectories often entail ascending past any hardships and setbacks. Through the WiSH Education Foundation’s second annual “ASCEND” event, in partnership with Zonta Club of Santa Clarita Valley and Soroptimist International of Valencia, women at the forefront of their communities spoke to junior high and high school students regarding their own paths at Saugus High School on Saturday. “ASCEND,” which stands for “Achieve, Succeed, Confidence, Empower, Nurture, Drive,” allowed attendees to hear from community members firsthand on ways to implement the acronym into their own lives, as well as the steps they took to become successful. Those who spoke included keynote speaker Kelly Cude, professor and department chair of biological and environmental sciences at College of the Canyons, and Bowman High School licensed social worker Elizabeth Tarantini. Tarantini, who earned her master’s degree in social work from California State University, Long Beach, discussed being the first of her family to graduate college. “I was the first person in my family to go to college. I wound up at San Diego State. Like many other speakers have said, I changed my major. I went into pre-nursing … but I knew in my gut it wasn’t for me. So, I switched into elementary education, but thought to myself, ‘I can’t see myself doing the same thing year after year.’ So, I switched again to child development,” Tarantini said. Tarantini was inspired to further her education in social work indirectly by a roommate who became pregnant. “In college, I had a roommate that was pregnant, she was single, and we were all living together. She wound up losing her baby, and I met my very first social worker who came over to us as her support system and said, ‘What are you going to do to take care of her when she goes home?’ I was so struck by that,” Tarantini said. Even though social work was always in the back of Tarantini’s mind, she went on to become a preschool teacher, before considering an official career change. “I found what I absolutely love … social work is an amazing profession. We want to make you and inspire you and provide you with the resources and to remove barriers in your life for whatever struggles you’re going through in order to succeed in life,” Tarantini said. “You guys are going to find your way without a doubt. Sometimes when you lose, you win, and you don’t realize it. In the long run, it does bring you down a path that you never know.” Kyanna Isaacson, operations director for Jersey Mike’s Subs in Santa Clarita, discussed working at the corporation, before she was granted her first franchise in 2016. “I was just 16 years old, just trying to get a job. I was a junior here at Saugus, and I was going to go to college and be a chef. That was my dream in life. I was doing the culinary program program at COC, then I transferred to Le Cordon Bleu when I was 20 years old,” Isaacson said. Realizing that she was working late hours and not making as much as she was as a general manager, she knew that being a chef was not the right path for her. “[I decided] that I’m going to drop out of school and run Jersey Mike’s. So, I did that, and a lot of people doubted me, but I have fun doing what I do every day. I still make sandwiches. Jersey Mike’s hosts a national conference every two years, and in 2016, I was nominated for ‘Manager of the Year’ … [when I was called up] on that stage and won my first franchise, I was bawling my eyes out. It was life-changing,” Isaacson said. Isaacson, who is now a franchisee of nine locations, discussed how she changed from working a lot to taking breaks to care for not only herself, but also her family. “I was a workaholic. Now, I’ve spent a lot of time with family. We’re traveling. I enjoy being more present. I feel like I’m a better mentor for my staff, for my employees. They notice I’m happier. I’m not just a mom, but I’m also not just a franchise of Jersey Mike’s,” Isaacson said. “I have hobbies. My husband and I are going to Japan on Thursday. I’ve learned a lot about myself in the last year, and I’m still learning.”
