Success is not always found on the easiest paths. Some face trials and hardships before reaching success.

Kate Stoetzner, director of international students and scholar services in the Barbara H. Padnos International Center, will share her journey toward achievement at the Women’s Center’s “Her Story” speaking event this fall.

Stoetzner will be the first out of four speakers in the lecture series. She will present at noon on Wednesday in Room 2263 of Kirkhof Center.

Traditionally, “Her Story” speakers focus on how they achieved their professional and personal goals.

Stoetzner said people seem to be genuinely interested in hearing about her story, and she is happy to share if it can help others on their own path of self-discovery.

“I was asked if I would mind telling my journey and talk about the people who have helped me out, and certainly I have gotten a lot of help over the years to get me where I am,” she said.

In preparation for the lecture, Stoetzner said she has reflected on who helped her along the way and what advice she would give to others who want to achieve the same goals as she did.

Stoetzner said she hopes her story will send a message of hope that a good education can make a difference.

“I think that the decisions you make and people you put yourself around make a difference in your life,” she said.

Jo Ann Wassenaar, associate director in the Women’s Center, said the program will be similar to a conversation with Stoetzner.

Wassenaar said she hopes attendants learn the road is not always straight, but many women have taken the opportunities to become successful.

The Women’s Center has hosted the “Her Story” lecture series for around eight years.

“It started as collaboration between the Women’s Commission and the Women’s Center,” Wassenaar said. “We felt there were a lot of women on campus that have a lot of knowledge to share about their leadership style and their story.”

She said many stories include mentorship in the lives of the speakers, and she hopes people attending will see the lessons of the speakers in their own lives. Wassenaar said she wants audience members to realize the different components of what makes a woman leader.

Elizabeth Bryker, a junior, plans to attend the first “Her Story” program.

“I’m going because I hope to have a professional career in law, and I want to hear about issues women have dealt with in developing their career,” she said. “I want to know how they overcame them.”

Bryker heard about the program through her women and gender studies class and the Women’s Center.

“I’m sure I will admire them. They are strong, independent women and that’s what I’m trying to be,” Bryker said. “It will be empowering and motivate me to continue what I’m doing when it gets hard.”

[email protected]