One of the interesting women I was hoping to interview for the book I was thinking about writing a long time ago was the Honorable Judge Helen Nies (pictured here with one of her colleagues). During the summer of 1986, I worked for her in Washington, D.C., at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, where she later became the Chief Judge.Judge Nies was a phenomenal example of a woman who broke barriers in her field--not just law, but patent law--despite the fact that she took nearly ten years off to stay home with her children. Seriously, she took all those years off and still made it to the tippy top.
All summer long, I basked in the light she cast on the path for other women.
She hired me to fill in for her secretary who was on maternity leave. At the end of the summer, her secretary decided to leave her position to stay home with her baby. I imagine the judge was sad to lose someone that competent, but she expressed only delight for her and told me stories about staying home with her kids.
Can't express how lucky I was to have someone like her help me imagine my own possibilities.
1 comment:
How is it possible that I know someone who has had (and noticed) such great experiences in her life? Thank you for sharing them.
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