Shannon: [00:00:00] Hi, I’m Shannon McNair, your guest host this week on Let’s Talk About Your Breasts. Today, we’re gonna talk with Caitlyn McGraw. Caitlyn started as an intern back in 2019 at The Rose, helping us with marketing and events, learning patients’ stories, and how those stories moved her, and how she uses those in her new life with her corporate job.
We’ll also talk about knowing your breast and what Caitlyn knows about her breast and her breast tissue, and what normal feels like for her so she can advocate for herself when things are different. If Caitlyn’s story moves you, consider going to therose.org and make a donation or learn more about getting an appointment for yourself.
Caitlyn: I’m very happy to be here.
Shannon: And not your first time here.
Caitlyn: No.
Shannon: For those who don’t know, in, uh, 2019, which I don’t know how long ago that was for us, you came to us as a marketing intern.
So talk a little bit about the, the… Was it two month, three month? How long were you with? Well, you stayed longer. We kept you on. We, we loved- We-
Caitlyn: wouldn’t let you go.
Shannon: We wouldn’t let you go. We were, we loved what you were doing here with our team and supporting us, so we actually kept you past the summer. You were officially a summer intern that year. So what all did you do here at The Rose, and what’d you [00:01:00] learn about? Not just The Rose, but what’d you learn about marketing and, and life?
Caitlyn: I learned a lot. So I, yeah, 2019, I think, was quite interesting year. Uh, I actually applied to the summer intern program late, so I was lucky to even get the phone call for the interview. But as soon as I got the, of course, the acceptance, I will never forget ordering the book for The Women of The Rose.
Shannon: Oh, yeah. Dorothy’s book.
Caitlyn: And- Right … kept reading that thing before I showed up to this office. I was super excited to not just take the book, but also, when I came here, I’ll never forget the stories, right?
Shannon: Yeah.
Caitlyn: I read about them in the book, but I never got to see these ladies just yet.
Shannon: Yeah.
Caitlyn: So getting to meet the people in the office, but then starting to go through the Excel sheet of all the different stories and finding new stories as well-
Shannon: Right
Caitlyn: that was, it was very rewarding, honestly.
Shannon: Yeah. So- So- Yeah. The first project we gave you was, like, “Here’s a… We know these are great stories, and we have a Excel sheet,” which doesn’t tell you much.
Caitlyn: Yeah.
Shannon: “Can you call them, talk to them?” And we didn’t have a [00:02:00] podcast yet. Yeah. So you were just there to get stories literally in any kind of way that may seem very analog right now. So you were just call, cold calling patients-
Caitlyn: Yeah
Shannon: … and s- that we knew had a story to tell. So what was that like, uh, as, as a senior in high school, junior, I mean, in college-
Caitlyn: Yeah …
Shannon: and then call, uh, like, “Here, call some patients and let’s get…” Like, you just jumped right in.
Caitlyn: I know. I jumped… I mean, what’s the worst that could happen, right?
Shannon: Right.
Caitlyn: So I mean, everybody was very nice on the phone, too, so it wasn’t like your cold call, like in sales-
Shannon: Right …
Caitlyn: where you never know what you’re gonna get, ’cause everyone felt something for The Rose. So they all knew The Rose. So it wasn’t, uh, intimidating in any way. It was more trying to ask them if they’d be willing to share more of their story in a public setting.
Shannon: Right.
Caitlyn: ‘Cause we all had their stories written on paper or we had it in the book. But getting them to come down and share it live on camera was-
Shannon: Right …
Caitlyn: something that was very fun and unique. ‘Cause this studio here is beautiful, but when we first started, it was, it was still gray walls, right?
Shannon: Right. Right.
Caitlyn: And we had to light it all up, and we had to take it down and put it back up-
Shannon: yeah …
Caitlyn: every single day.
Shannon: I think we barely [00:03:00] had lighting for those, as I recall. But uh, ge- getting those stories on video and just recording, again, not on paper- And I always say no one tells The Rose story better than someone who’s been through it-
Caitlyn: Yeah.
Shannon: Whether they’re a survivor or they just come in every day to, or every year to make sure that they’re okay. No one tells that story better than someone who has been through it. And so you got to talk to a lot of those w- I’d be crying every day as-
Caitlyn: Oh, we were …
Shannon: anyone who knows me knows.
Caitlyn: We shared so many tears in this room. I never thought I would be crying hearing somebody’s story, but man, it really would move you hearing the stories of these-
Shannon: Yeah …
Caitlyn: people that not only were saved here, but ladies who came to help others here, ’cause we also heard stories of friends taking their friend to The Rose to save their lives.
Shannon: Right.
Caitlyn: So.
Shannon: All the, all the stories that, that we now tell on a podcast, right?
Caitlyn: Yeah.
Shannon: So it’s not just the patients, the caregivers, the doctors, everyone involved, and we get to continue their stories, ’cause someone can relate to any story.
Caitlyn: Absolutely.
Shannon: Uh, there’s always something that, about your story that’s gonna touch someone else. They’re all different. And of course, you know, there’s, every breast cancer story’s different, but yet there’s gonna be someone who knows what’s happening. And so we’ll talk a little about [00:04:00] your story. While it’s not a breast cancer story, I think it’s a story that’s important to share, and I think that a lot of women will relate, younger women, as you were. So at 18, you knew something about your breasts that was different that also runs in your family with your mother. Not cancer, but let’s talk a little bit about that. So at 18, you’re advocating for yourself already-
Caitlyn: Yes …
Shannon: because of your breast, uh, tissue- and texture. So let’s talk a little bit about that.
Caitlyn: So at 18, I mean, every single one of us goes through our normal breast examination. If you’re not, definitely do so.
Shannon: Right.
Caitlyn: Right? No, it does not matter your age.
Shannon: It’s, it’s not too late to start, but start now.
Caitlyn: You, you’re supposed to do it all the time.
Shannon: Today’s a good day.
Caitlyn: Yeah, every day just, you know, feel around your breasts and d- identify and get used to it. I mean, it’s your body. You have to get comfortable with your body. But at 18 years old, I started feeling a few lumps in my breast. And at 18 I was like, “Wait a second. I’m way too young for this.” We always hear breast cancer come way later in life. My mom and I, I’ll be honest, didn’t share too much about our breasts and our histories at the time-
Shannon: Right
Caitlyn: but, ’cause, you know, just felt it was normal. You don’t really share a lot of that. But at 18 I went to a doctor, told her about [00:05:00] my little lumps. She ti- told me it’s normal and just blew it off. I was an athlete. It’s okay. It’s fine. Okay. No problem. Few la- years later, I actually end up with two more lumps in my breast. Um, at that point, I went to the doctor again, to a different doctor.
Shannon: So that was after your internship then, right?
Caitlyn: That was after. So it start-
Shannon: so that was after your-
Caitlyn: Yeah, so it was right towards the end of my-
Shannon: So after you hear about women advocating for themselves
Caitlyn: Yes, I started f- started really thinking about it, right? So then in… It was COVID time.
Shannon: Yeah.
Caitlyn: It was 2019 to 2020. I went to the, uh, my OBGYN, and I brought it up to him as well, and I didn’t just have one lump. I had three lumps at that point. So I had one in one and two in the other, and I was getting a little worried, right? Uh, my mom had actually, the year prior, had gotten her lump removed and had a biopsy.
She didn’t tell us about it. She just told us when it was clear- that the test results came back positive. Made me a little sad she didn’t tell us, right, when she was going through this, but I was happy she was clear. But it made me realize I need to probably get mine looked at further and get a second advice, right?
Shannon: Right.
Caitlyn: Hearing the stories of The Rose, the women, [00:06:00] and then sometimes you have to advocate for yourself as a person.
Shannon: Right.
Caitlyn: Sometimes doctors can overlook ’cause it’s, it’s normal, right?
Shannon: Right.
Caitlyn: So, um, when-
Shannon: Well, they’re looking at the average or the likelihoods of things, right?
Caitlyn: Yeah, I was too young.
Shannon: And not-
Caitlyn: Yeah, I was way too young
Shannon: and not the individual case that it may be.
Caitlyn: Yeah. Yeah. And I think it was also around that time when my mom actually heard on the radio there was a girl who was 18 years old that ended up having breast cancer. Yeah. So now she was getting a little worried for me, and she-
Shannon: Right …
Caitlyn: really wanted me to go get this checked out.
So I d- uh, in 2019, so it was right around COVID, right before COVID, I did have a doctor agree to write me a referral for a mammogram Um, COVID came. I will admit, I put it off a little bit too much.
Shannon: Sure.
Caitlyn: I was just graduating- . college. Um, I was like, “Ah, you know, it’s still not that normal.” Nobody really had urgency. I mean, you’re too young. Um, I, and so in 2020, um, yeah, that was fun because 2020 was COVID. Uh, insurance was not as easy for everybody. Uh, hospitals were not available for everybody.
Shannon: Right. Right. So- They, they preferred you to delay things.
Caitlyn: Everything.
Shannon: So you- Yeah … I know I broke my wrist during COVID, and anything you can do to avoid being in the [00:07:00] hospital, and surgery was what was the protocol then for anyone not need-
Caitlyn: Yeah
Shannon: not dealing with COVID itself. So, so yeah, so you’re advocating extra-
Caitlyn: Uh, yes, I was …
Shannon: during that time.
Caitlyn: And at that time, I was going through an insurance issue too, because I was of age where I can’t be on my parents’ insurance. I didn’t have a job yet, ’cause COVID. Everything happened with COVID, right?
Shannon: Right.
Caitlyn: But I still needed to get it checked out. So, um, I was lucky enough that my, my parents said, “Hey, this is a priority. Like, we don’t care if we have to pay for this cash.” We ended up, on my birthday, wonderful birthday- … but on my birthday, I ended up having to go to one of the Memorial Hermann’s. And I had to go get my first-ever mammogram at 25 years old.
Shannon: Okay.
Caitlyn: That was very intimidating, to be in a room so young, and you’re looking around, you’re seeing women, I’ll say, who are a lot older-
Shannon: Absolutely. Yeah … because they’re, it’s, it’s normal for them.
Caitlyn: Getting their annual…
Shannon: Yeah.
Caitlyn: And, you know, even ladies reaching across to me and saying, “You’re gonna be okay,” ’cause my mom couldn’t be back there, right?
Shannon: Oh, right, right.
Caitlyn: So I’m standing in the back in the row-
Shannon: By yourself …
Caitlyn: by myself. Yeah. All these ladies are [00:08:00] older than me, and they’re looking at me and asking me if I’m okay, ’cause they’re assuming the same thing.
Shannon: Right.
Caitlyn: You might have breast cancer.
Shannon: Because you can’t be, you’re not there to support your mother-
Caitlyn: Yeah
Shannon: because during COVID you couldn’t have extra people around. So they knew that you were there as a patient-
Caitlyn: Yeah …
Shannon: despite your age. Yeah.
Caitlyn: And I was so young that there was an assumption-
Shannon: Yeah …
Caitlyn: right, that maybe there was something wrong, right?
Shannon: Yeah. Right.
Caitlyn: So- Right … it was a little intimidating. And I will admit, when I was even sitting back there, I’m scared. I’m concerned. I even, you know, laid on the table. Um, they did the ultrasound first, and then they put me towards mammogram. I will never forget having to just think about my life if I had breast cancer.
Shannon: Right. What’s next?
Caitlyn: Yeah. What would happen? What’s next? What’s… You don’t know what the results are, ’cause they’re never gonna tell you in that room just yet, right?
Shannon: Right. Right.
Caitlyn: You’re just gonna leave- That’s the thing
Shannon: … and you’re gonna keep waiting.
Caitlyn: They don’t know.
Shannon: Yeah.
Caitlyn: Right? Um, I, although my test came back absolutely normal, we found out, I actually got a, a follow-up about six months later. Um, completely fine. I have just lumpy breasts.
Shannon: Right.
Caitlyn: So the good news-
Shannon: That’s, that’s you.
Caitlyn: Yeah.
Shannon: You’ve got it.
Caitlyn: That’s normal.
Shannon: Now you know. Yeah.
Caitlyn: Um, I’m still [00:09:00] happy I did it.
Shannon: Oh, yeah.
Caitlyn: Because if I didn’t, I would have always had that thought in my head. And honestly, if it was something It, it could’ve gotten worse.
Shannon: Yeah.
Caitlyn: I could’ve just kept ignoring it-
Shannon: Right …
Caitlyn: and ignoring it and ignoring it.
Shannon: Well, and now you know, as, as someone who self-breast exams, you know what’s normal for you. And you know that th- these lumps are the normal ones, and then you would hopefully recognize if there’s something does change.
Caitlyn: Oh, absolutely.
Shannon: And you know what’s happening, and you’re on top of it. So I love that you all, um, you were there to, uh, that the women in the room were comforting you.
Caitlyn: Yeah.
Shannon: You know, I think that’s normal for all of us. Like, okay, we’re here for each other as much as we can ’cause-
Caitlyn: It’s womanhood, right? Yeah.
Shannon: Right. That’s what it’s all about.
Caitlyn: Yeah.
Shannon: We all know wh- while we’re back here in this smock, we all know what we’re gonna-
Caitlyn: Yeah.
Shannon: … What we’re looking at, whether we’re screening. And then someone so young, obviously assuming they’re not there Um, just for, for screening, ’cause that wouldn’t be what you would be doing back there. So you’ve, uh, and, and you know the patients’ stories. So I can imagine sitting there, waiting for results.
Caitlyn: Yeah.
Shannon: You’ve heard a million stories from young women, not just people who are more of that normal age, if you will, for breast cancer. You’ve heard all the stories, so were those all rotating through your head, too?
Caitlyn: It definitely was, but I [00:10:00] also reminded myself, too, if I, if I were to go through this, I would hope to be one of those strong women that would come share their stories here, too.
Shannon: Yeah. You know the good side, too.
Caitlyn: There is.
Shannon: On the other end.
Caitlyn: Yes.
Shannon: When people got through it- And- … at the other side …
Caitlyn: they always got through it. And they shared so other women were not as scared. So I knew I would become that woman, too, ’cause you had to share-
Shannon: That’s wonderful …
Caitlyn: your story.
Shannon: Yeah.
Caitlyn: Right?
Shannon: And, um, and I know, and so you basically inherited lumpy breasts, then, that’s what you-
Caitlyn: I did. I got lumpy breasts-
Shannon: That’s, that’s what-
Caitlyn: … and it’s just something I’m gonna live with. That’s- And you never know. But- But you just have to be, you have to be careful of it. Yeah.
Shannon: Yeah. And you have to advocate for yourself-
Caitlyn: Absolutely …
Shannon: when you need to. But know your body. I think that’s so important for you to say that, too, is that I don’t know what’s wrong if I don’t know what normal is for me.
Caitlyn: Yeah.
Shannon: And- And you know what normal is …
Caitlyn: everybody is different. Their normal is different, right?
Shannon: Everybody is different. Yeah, I don’t have lumpy breasts. That’s, that would not be normal for me if that came up. So you’re talking about these patient stories you heard as an intern. So what were the other highlights of being an intern here at The Rose, or what’d you learn, either about yourself, too, uh, here- while you were here with us for that time?
Caitlyn: I had a lot of fun. I’ll be honest. It, there, it was always a, a fun day here at The [00:11:00] Rose. I think I will never forget telling people that I followed a shrimp around for social media.
Shannon: That’s, oh yeah, yeah, our social media good times. Yeah.
Caitlyn: That was probably my favorite one, was following, uh, the shrimps around, you know, at HEB, and I, we went everywhere with the shrimps. I was recording at Starbucks.
Shannon: I do remember that year. I believe I was at the Starbucks in that shrimp head.
Caitlyn: That was fun.
Shannon: Shoot, shoot a picture now. Um, yeah, we did do that at Starbucks. Now that you say that, I completely-
Caitlyn: But it was bold. It was different. It was bold. It stood out. It gave us a chance to promote-
Shannon: Yeah …
Caitlyn: right?
Shannon: Yeah.
Caitlyn: In different ways, so.
Shannon: What’s opposed to having fun and doing something different?
Caitlyn: Yeah. So I mean, I like working right now with, like, startups.
Shannon: Yes.
Caitlyn: So sometimes you don’t have a, a lot of funding, but yet you need to get your voice out there.
Shannon: Yeah.
Caitlyn: So the boldness that we did, uh, it encouraged me to keep going bold.
Shannon: Oh, good.
Caitlyn: Right. Everywhere.
Shannon: Good.
Caitlyn: Anything that we did.
Shannon: Good.
Caitlyn: Yeah. Just take an idea and go bold, because it’s just fun.
Shannon: Yeah.
Caitlyn: It, the marketing is, is fun, right?
Shannon: It should be. Yeah, it should be fun. It is. I mean, every, I mean, I think all work should be fun. Uh, uh, to your point, we’ve cried a lot in-
Caitlyn: Oh, yeah …
Shannon: you know, in this building and in this room, and, a- and tears of joy. I don’t want to [00:12:00] just say-
Caitlyn: Oh, yeah …
Shannon: sadness. Lots of tears of joy. But we also, um, have a real family sense in this building, a real, in all of our buildings. I don’t wanna exclude our buildings, but our buildings, our mobile units, that family, that we’re here. Um, and you’re so much family as that intern more years ago than I was realizing, ’cause I think COVID blocks my mind- … of those years that I lost. And we still see you every year.
Caitlyn: Yes. Yeah.
Shannon: You still come back and come to the Shrimp Boil every year. I think you’ve missed a year when you had a conflict. Um, but you come every year and volunteer, and what’s that like? Why, why do you give back? Why are you coming back to see us?
Caitlyn: I mean, why not come back, right? Uh, this place gave me so much. It gave me the confidence. It taught me so much. I’ll never forget even, um, Elda at the time teaching me patiently all the Adobe Creative Suite.
Shannon: Right.
Caitlyn: ‘Cause that was quite patient. I still even use some of her tips and tricks.
Shannon: In fact, you didn’t come in as a graphic designer-
Caitlyn: No …
Shannon: but we may throw things at you-
Caitlyn: Y- yeah,
Shannon: I- … like, “Hey, you wanna try something?”
Caitlyn: You threw me random stuff, but I was willing to take it on. You guys were very patient. So I mean, just giving back to the women that gave [00:13:00] back to me was wonderful. I mean, just being a part of a community, a, an organization like this that gives back to not just women, but to their own community-
Shannon: Right …
Caitlyn: and has such a great heart about it, why wouldn’t you come back, right?
Shannon: That’s great.
Caitlyn: Well- So it’s just my… Every year I look forward to it. It’s good. Every year it’s just like, “Okay, this is, like, the fun day.”
Shannon: Yeah.
Caitlyn: And what do you need me to do to help and support? ‘Cause no matter what we would do, right, it would always give back to The Rose.
Shannon: Yeah. Well, it’s great, and we love giving back at the Shrimp Boil, ’cause it is a fun day. A lot of our patients are in that room, as you know, um, that share our story, their stories, and then they come…
That’s how they come and give back to us, the Shrimp Boil.
Caitlyn: And I still see them, right?
Shannon: Yeah.
Caitlyn: All the stories that we have, all the-
Shannon: Yeah …
Caitlyn: you know, all the community of the w- I mean, it’s just wonderful.
Shannon: Yeah. Yeah. And so what did, what did you take from your internship into your new job? Um, so you work in a s- in cybersecurity.
Caitlyn: Yes, I do.
Shannon: Very different than-
Caitlyn: Yes. …
Shannon: than patient stories. But yeah, you learn, things you learned here
Caitlyn: Yeah …
Shannon: did carry through, right?
Caitlyn: So when I… What I like to do is startup, so I’ve learned that I still have that passion, motivation, fast pace, and even here with The Rose, we were a [00:14:00] small team, but we were mighty.
Shannon: Oh, yeah.
Caitlyn: Yeah, so-
Shannon: And, and fast-paced. Yeah.
Caitlyn: Oh, very fast-paced.
Shannon: Chase, we will spin on a dime.
Caitlyn: Absolutely. So I mean, it’s, uh, it gave me that ability, ’cause I learned so much here, and in my background a little bit, that I had a little bit of everything.
Shannon: Right.
Caitlyn: So working for startups, although you might have a small team, you could still be mighty-
Shannon: Right.
Caitlyn: Right? So, um, as well as even the security space, it’s still do something good in this world, right?
Shannon: Right. That’s right. Yeah. A, a- It is
Caitlyn: … very passion.
Shannon: You’re right. It is. It, uh, it, we said earlier, y- you know, technology exceeds, and security has to catch up to it-
Caitlyn: Every time …
Shannon: when the technology happens. And talking about a small team, that is the definition of nonprofit work.
Caitlyn: Uh-huh.
Shannon: We have, you know, you work with very little resources, and you gotta make things happen however they’re gonna happen. Like I said, we didn’t start with this studio that we have now.
Caitlyn: Yeah.
Shannon: We, we grew and did things, and you, so you’ve taken that with you, your startup experience- I have … is like how to do a lot with a little.
Caitlyn: Absolutely. I mean, we, same thing, limited resources. We had a small team, and we were supporting globally a first to market solution.
Shannon: Right.
Caitlyn: So nobody knew about us. We didn’t have any branding. We were a [00:15:00] company of all, uh, engineers and sales reps, but marketing, no. Yeah. No marketing, so no brand, no, um, collateral, no webinars, no-
Shannon: Oh, wow
Caitlyn: podcast, nothing. We started from the ground up with a very small team. So while it looks intimidating to some, I was excited, right? Yeah.
Shannon: Oh, I bet. I bet.
Caitlyn: I was so excited. So the number one thing that I was very happy to do, and I took it d- even straight from The Rose, is we had no stories. Uh, we would hear how amazing our solution were to stop ransomware, but people wouldn’t believe it. Like, when you would share the story, they wouldn’t believe it was true.
Shannon: That’s a brochure.
Caitlyn: Yeah. It’s a brochure.
Shannon: That’s, you know, that’s a flyer on the wall.
Caitlyn: Yeah.
Shannon: That’s not a story.
Caitlyn: It’s not- Yeah … a story. So, and you know, sales reps talking about stories or sharing stories is one thing, but people wanna hear it from the person’s mouth.
Shannon: Right.
Caitlyn: Right? That’s the trust that they build. So when I started, they, even the SEs would tell me nobody would share their story, right? It’s too vulnerable, too vulnerable. I said, “Well-“
Shannon: Oh, right, because they’re admitting there was- They were- … a ransomware- There was a mistake … or whatever else.
Caitlyn: Yeah.
Shannon: That there was a-
Caitlyn: Yeah
Shannon: a, a hit to their system.
Caitlyn: Yes.
Shannon: They’re admitting a weak- [00:16:00] a huge weakness.
Caitlyn: They… Yes. Yeah. But same thing, even- Yeah … even though we talk about breast cancer, you have to-
Shannon: Right …
Caitlyn: admit, right?
Shannon: You have to. You, you-
Caitlyn: It’s vulnerable …
Shannon: feel when you got When you get that kind of, you feel weak.
Caitlyn: Yeah.
Shannon: And, and I think a lot of times too, with cancer, same way, you feel like you did something wrong-
Caitlyn: Mm-hmm
Shannon: even though you didn’t. You didn’t. There’s nothing you can do. You didn’t. You’re right. I didn’t think about how similar that would be for those folks- And same with- … to have that same, “I’ve gotta admit our company had a problem.”
Caitlyn: Yeah. And same with security too. You can’t be perfect, and these cyber criminals are very smart. They just need to hit, get in one time-
Shannon: Yeah …
Caitlyn: and you could have done everything right. They’re super smart. Just one time and they’ll hit you, and they’ll take- . your whole company down. And sharing that story is very vulnerable.
Shannon: Right. Right.
Caitlyn: So, so-
Shannon: But you got them to do it.
Caitlyn: I did. Yeah. And, um, it, and it’s, the good, great thing is same, like even though it’s like you’re building a community of people willing to share their stories. So while in the beginning we had no stories, um, we ended up a, I think I ended up with 12 written stories. Um, and then I actually had a year where every single month I would have a live webinar, and I would invite customers- . and we would have round [00:17:00] tables. And it got to the point where customers were asking us- If they could share to be, to share their story-
Shannon: Oh, that’s great …
Caitlyn: because they felt more and more confident, ’cause their other colleagues were sharing too.
Shannon: Yeah.
Caitlyn: So it became a great success, I mean, sharing their story and, and sharing that community, building that community within that-
Shannon: Right …
Caitlyn: organization.
Shannon: Being collaborative too.
Caitlyn: Yeah. It was wonderful.
Shannon: And they can learn from other people’s mis- you know-
Caitlyn: Yeah. And I even learned more about- Like- … what we could offer to the world, right?
Shannon: Right. Yeah.
Caitlyn: There were things we weren’t considering that we actually would help with. Um, outside of just how the product was evolving, our product actually did more than we realized-
Shannon: Right
Caitlyn: because we heard their stories-
Shannon: Right …
Caitlyn: and they told us what it would do.
Shannon: What, what it, what they had pushed it to do, or they had tried something that y’all-
Caitlyn: Yeah …
Shannon: didn’t even think about doing. It’s so interesting, ’cause I think too with our board meetings, we have a mission moment-
Caitlyn: Yeah. …
Shannon: which is now similar to that too-
Caitlyn: Uh-huh
Shannon: how relate, I never thought we would relate in a podcast, The Rose, so much to a cybersecurity international-
Caitlyn: Yeah …
Shannon: firm, but here we are. But with the same thing, we all have vulnerabilities, we all have stories to share. We can all learn from each other’s stories and collaborate and learn, like, “I did this. Well, let me try that too.” Then that relates to me. [00:18:00] That’s so interesting. Um, I just never thought about that in that way. You’re sharing community.
Caitlyn: But we were talking about it. Yeah.
Shannon: Community is community, right? In any shape or form. Is there anything else you wanna share about either your time at The Rose, or just advice for women out there? What, what do you, what advice do you have for interns out there? You know- Oof … just jumping in. I know it was a while ago now-
Caitlyn: That was a while ago. …
Shannon: but look at that with this, with this lens of you. If you had an intern… You’re now in a position-
Caitlyn: Yeah …
Shannon: and, um, as I say, a full grown-up you are.
Caitlyn: Yeah.
Shannon: Um, what would you share with your intern if you had an intern coming in?
Caitlyn: I’ve actually now had a few interns-
Shannon: Well, see, good …
Caitlyn: believe it or not. So I have. Um, one thing I will share is don’t just get the coffee.
Shannon: Oh, yeah?
Caitlyn: So we- Push yourself- … and ask to take on a project. If you see a problem or you see- . something that you can take on and you’re willing to challenge yourself, be willing to raise your hand and not be scared, and try.
Shannon: Right.
Caitlyn: Just try. What’s the worst that can happen? It doesn’t pan out-
Shannon: Right
Caitlyn: … but you have people to support you and help you get through it.
Shannon: Don’t just get the coffee. Yeah.
Caitlyn: Don’t just wait for somebody to tell you what to do.
Shannon: Yeah, I’d say-
Caitlyn: See where you can help and [00:19:00] contribute.
Shannon: Yeah.
Caitlyn: And you never know where your passion might go, so follow your passion and see if you build-
Shannon: Yeah
Caitlyn: a project that lasts.
Shannon: I always tell, uh, when we’ve had interns too, “You’re gonna learn things you love. You also are gonna learn things that, ‘Oh, you know, I thought I wanted to do this-
Caitlyn: Yeah …
Shannon: and now that I’m doing it, maybe it’s not my passion or my… That’s not the main thing I’d like to do.'” I, I learned- “And I, and I may get into a completely different direction from what I thought I would wanna do.”
Caitlyn: I learned real fast I’m not doing data, right?
Shannon: Right. Yes.
Caitlyn: I remember the project we had you-
Shannon: Right. Yeah, yeah … doing, putting manually the data. Excel sheets, not my thing. Yeah. It’s fine.
Caitlyn: No.
Shannon: Yeah, data’s not my thing either. I get it. Uh, talking on podcasts I guess is, um, uh, we didn’t know that, but there you are.
Caitlyn: Yeah.
Shannon: See, you don’t know until… And you, but you don’t know until you try it-
Caitlyn: Absolutely …
Shannon: uh, what it’s like, you know?
Caitlyn: And an internship gives you that kind of safety to do so.
Shannon: Yeah.
Caitlyn: Right? So.
Shannon: But I would say, too, yeah, ask, because yeah, there are the menial things I’m sure you did. You bundle, you know, things that we need done.
Caitlyn: Oh, yeah. Absolutely.
Shannon: We need these copies made. Absolutely. We need these bundle… Uh, especially I know when you support events with us, um, now as a volunteer, but when you would-
Caitlyn: Yeah …
Shannon: there, that was part of things you were doing, too. We’re taking pictures. We’re putting auction baskets. We’re doing all these [00:20:00] little tasks, but you’ve got to do some other things, too-
Caitlyn: Yeah
Shannon: that you brought up, that you’re like, “I would like to do this.”
Caitlyn: Try to lead-
Shannon: “Now I wanna try this” …
Caitlyn: something, something small. It doesn’t have to be something vast or huge, just something small.
Shannon: Right.
Caitlyn: Right? If you see, uh, something that you can add value, take it on.
Shannon: Take it on.
Caitlyn: Right? Just take it on and give it your best shot, and see what happens.
Shannon: Yeah.
Caitlyn: You never know. You add to your portfolio as a person-
Shannon: Right
Caitlyn: … and then you start to figure out is that what you like or not like.
Shannon: Right. Yeah. That’s again, you’re… I, I’ve worked with interns who say, “You know what I’ve learned? I do not wanna do events,” and I get it.
Caitlyn: It’s a lot of work.
Shannon: That’s not my thing.
Caitlyn: It is.
Shannon: That’s not my thing. Or they may say, “You know what? I like being in front of the camera-
Caitlyn: Yeah …
Shannon: not behind it,” and learn new things with that, too, you know, learn new technology that they might or might not otherwise know about without that internship that you started here with us, which we are so grateful you’re in that program, um, to support us and get there. So we started with getting those story, patient stories- On audio? Video?
Caitlyn: We started video With video Yeah.
Shannon: We brought him into this video.
Caitlyn: Mm-hmm
Shannon: And photos, and getting those quotes off the paper, off, off of the book, out of the book, and then look at us [00:21:00] now.
Caitlyn: And we- And we build campaigns off of them, too Yeah.
Shannon: Yes, absolutely.
Caitlyn: Mm-hmm
Shannon: So marketing campaigns, our email campaigns
Caitlyn: Beautiful videos And- I mean, I’ll never forget, we cried on that first story, a kicker.
Shannon: Oh, yeah
Caitlyn: Everybody in that room, right?
Shannon: Yeah.
Caitlyn: It was just so moving.
Shannon: And they’re always … Uh, yeah, again, uh, you cry, uh, for joy, you know?
Caitlyn: Yes.
Shannon: And ’cause we know the end. We know the end-
Caitlyn: Yes …
Shannon: of the story, right? We’re meeting a patient- It’s so moving … so we know that they’re okay. But hearing their stories go through, and as y- you know, I cry regularly here with those kind of stories and watching videos. But, um, it’s so great to do that, and then to look where we’ve come now. I know. So look what we’ve been able to do now. It’s just- It’s just amazing-
Caitlyn: … amazing …
Shannon: to share these stories even broader. And, um, I’m sure someone will relate to your story, both in advocating for yourself, knowing your body, taking charge, but then also, uh, putting that time into that internship-
Caitlyn: Yeah …
Shannon: and making it work for you.
Caitlyn: Really, just give it a shot.
Shannon: Yeah, just give it a shot.
Caitlyn: That’s what life’s all about, right?
Shannon: Right. That’s right. What, you know, you say what could happen, what could happen.
Caitlyn: Uh-huh.
Shannon: What could happen. So we were, we’re so grateful to see you every year when you come back and support us at Shrimp Boil. We’re so thankful for your support, um, both there, and [00:22:00] then also what you helped us do back then when we had that small but mighty team, and needed, needed you to come in and help do some projects with us. We’re j- we’re immensely grateful and love having you here.
Caitlyn: I absolutely love it, and you know I’ll always come back for The Rose.
Shannon: Good. Good.
Caitlyn: Right? Give back to the community-
Shannon: Good …
Caitlyn: that gave back to me, right?
Shannon: We know how to find
Caitlyn: you. I know you do.
Shannon: Thanks for coming in, Caitlyn.
Caitlyn: Of course. Thank you.
Post-Credits: Thank you for joining us today on Let’s Talk About Your Breasts. This podcast is produced by Speke Podcasting and brought to you by The Rose. Visit therose.org to learn more about our organization. Subscribe to our podcast, share episodes with friends, and join the conversation on social media using #LetsTalkAboutYourBreasts. We welcome your feedback and suggestions. Consider supporting The Rose. Your gift can make the difference to a person in need. And remember, self-care is not selfish, it’s essential.
