Meet Adrienne Ross: 2017 Flourish Women’s Summit speaker

New York native Adrienne Ross has lived in Cape Girardeau for the past three years and already has had a lasting effect on the community. With an 18-year career as an educator in New York under her belt, Ross decided to uproot and move to Southeast Missouri to forge a new path, a decision she considers a "God-thing." Now a writer and motivational speaker, Ross uses her words to motivate and help improve the lives of others on a broader scale. Add this in with her contribution to the editorial board at the Southeast Missourian, her job as a copy editor for Breitbart News Network and her publishing of a book featuring her Aunt Alma, and you'll see Ross has been making good use of her time in the area.

Read on as Adrienne shares more about her background, lessons she's learned and her hilarious Aunt Alma. For more, join the Southeast Missourian on May 4 for the 2017 Flourish Women's Summit.

Flourish: Please tell me about yourself and where you're from.

Adrienne Ross: I am originally from New York. I was raised in New York City and Long Island. After going upstate to college, however, I never returned to that area to live myself, although my family remains there. I spent my entire teaching career in Hudson, New York, for the Hudson City School District, which is about two and a half hours from New York City, and I taught there for more than 17 years.

Flourish: From looking at your bio it would seem you wear and have worn many hats throughout your life. Please tell me about your various roles over the years and what they have meant to you. Of those roles, which are you most passionate about, and why?

Adrienne Ross signs a copy of her first book, "#AuntAlma: Raisin a Little Hell Heaven on Earth" for a customer at Barnes & Noble Friday, July 22. The book is a collection of quotations from Ross' aunt along with colorful illustrations.Glenn Landberg

Adrienne: Notable hats would be teacher, coach, editor, writer, author and speaker. It's difficult to narrow down what I am most passionate about, as they are all very much intertwined. My true passion is my faith in Christ, which drives everything I do -- and manifests itself in everything I do.

Working with young people has been one of my greatest joys, as well as one one of my greatest responsibilities/challenges. The privilege of teaching English language arts to seventh-grade students for almost two decades, until I resigned in October of 2013, is still so much a part of me that when I meet people and am asked what I "do," teaching remains the first thing that comes to mind. I have to remind myself that I am no longer in the classroom. I do still get the opportunity, as a motivational speaker, to go to schools and speak to youth, so the teacher in me is still very much alive. And while I was teaching and coaching in the public school setting, the motivational speaker was very much alive in my approach. So it all just flows together. I absolutely love communication -- effective communication! I have loved to write for as long as I can remember, though I never thought I'd be doing some of the kinds of writing that I do now. God has blessed me to be multifaceted, and his gifts have served me well in many areas.

I am passionate about youth because they are so open once one has gained their trust. I look at my opportunities to be with them as a window to having a positive influence on them -- to help facilitate their character development and help them grow, while they keep me young and help me grow. They are impressionable, and once you have their heart, you have a treasure money cannot buy. Former students contact me and tell me how my class changed their lives or how I helped them get through a tough time; it's something I wouldn't change for anything. One thing I often say is that "people don't care how much you know until they know how much you care." I have found that to be true with youth especially. Once they know you truly care, you can get on their case when need be, and they'll receive it. Why? Because they trust that you have their best interests at heart.

Flourish: You've been in the area for a few years now. What motivated you to make such a big change and move to Southeast Missouri?

Adrienne: After three years, I still struggle with answering that question. My best way of answering remains the same: My move here was a "God-thing." I have friends like family here whom I met through political involvement. I spent the last four or five summers here before making the move, able to do so because, as a teacher, I had summers off. I felt drawn to the area, and it was just a confirmation of what God had planted in my heart years before I knew anyone in Missouri or even where to locate it on a map. The friendship and the open door were pieces to a puzzle God began to put together years before.

I still don't fully know why I'm here, especially since my full-time job as an editor for Breitbart News Network is online and can be done anywhere. Though I do not have all the answers of why I'm here, I see things coming together here that were not in place in New York. It's all still unfolding -- and again, I'm assured it's a God-thing.

Flourish: You recently published a book about your Aunt Alma. Tell me about that process and why spreading Alma's humor and wisdom is important to you.

Adrienne: Aunt Alma is one of the adults who helped raise my siblings and me. I had never had plans to write a book about her, but others dropped that seed in me. My aunt has always had such a rich sense of humor, as do I. She's so funny -- even funnier when she's not trying to be. So the #AuntAlma journey began when I started sharing on Facebook things she would say during our conversations. That's why I use the hashtag. I shared her words as I would share anything, never expecting the response that I received, never expecting it to grow to something more than a Facebook status. But people began saying they wanted a particular quote on a T-shirt or a coffee mug, and some said that I needed to write a book or that she reminded them of an aunt or grandmother. Then I started hearing she was a "Black Max," alluding to the popular Maxine character of Hallmark fame.

I eventually took the demand for more #AuntAlma to heart and hired my first illustrator, who created one image of her. People began buying items with particular quotes on them. Elysia King, my illustrator, was very busy at the time and could not take the project where I wanted to take it, so I hired another illustrator, John Morgan, and the mission continued because, by then, I had caught the vision. Mind you, my aunt had no idea any of this was going on. I unveiled it to her one evening in New York -- along with pictures of people with their #AuntAlma paraphernalia and videos they made telling her how much her words made them laugh or encouraged them. When the suggestions that I write a book continued, I gathered more quotes. Even now, I keep a pen handy when I talk to her on the phone because she's always dropping something funny -- not trying to at all; she's just being herself. I don't let her know I'm taking notes because I want her to be her authentic self. I want her as she is, not as a scripted character.

It's been a joy to help make people laugh through her. This project is a tribute to her and cements her legacy, yes, but almost as important, it makes people laugh, and we need more laughter. In 2016, I began jokingly calling it the "Make America Laugh Again" campaign. I consider my #AuntAlma work part of my motivational work because it's hard to be motivated if you cannot laugh, so I help make that happen.

Flourish: Speaking of books, you wrote a column about "To Kill a Mockingbird" and political correctness recently. Why does this book in particular resonate with you so much?

Adrienne: I consider "To Kill a Mockingbird" the greatest novel I have ever read. I taught it for many years, and my students loved it. Former students still mention it when I run into them. It is a combination of beautiful language, life lessons and side-splitting humor. It tackles racism in a real and emotional way, and teaches us that we don't always get what we want, but we can surely try -- even when we know ahead of time the battle will be lost.

The bottom line is that there are a plethora of nuggets in the book, and you're being enriched by them before you even realize it. Every person should read the book, not just watch the Academy Award-winning film. Read the book!

Flourish: Our May 4 Flourish Women's Summit is quickly approaching! Could you give us an idea of what you'll be sharing with attendees? What do you hope women will learn from hearing your story?

Adrienne: I do not have my full focus yet, but I do know that I want to share my story about persevering, overcoming odds and living by faith. My life story includes all those things. I want women to know that there is a calling on their lives and that true success is tapping into that calling. I want to share with them ways to identify their calling. I want them to know that risks are often involved, but the risks are worth it. My experience coming from the projects of the Bronx to where I am today testifies to that.

Flourish: As the owner of your own communications company, what is your best advice for aspiring women in the workforce?

Adrienne: My "communications company" is simply a DBA I started to do motivational speaking. It is nowhere where I want it to be, but I believe I am on my way. My best advice for women is to trust God. He gives us purpose. Without purpose, nothing matters, and therefore, nothing usually happens. I also advise women to identify what they are passionate about and let it fuel them. It is also vital to be open to learning. Being a lifelong learner and a hard worker will pay off immensely. One valuable lesson is a lesson that someone spoke to me before I finished my book: "Finish what you start." I was a good starter, but not a completer. Now, the first book is out there, and I have two others in the works, with plans to publish them prior to the Women's Summit.

Flourish: Who is your mentor or role model, and why? Also, why is it important to have that kind of person in one's life?

Adrienne: I learn from many people. One might say I am a compilation of many. It's hard to pin down one specific mentor. As a Christian, I want to love and encourage like Christ, obviously. But I listen to various public speakers and preachers and learn from them -- Priscilla Shirer, Les Brown, for example. I love Maya Angelou's poetry.

Then there are people I know and speak to regularly -- family and personal friends and pastors, who model faith, perseverance and hard work. I've had respect for various people in various arenas: speaking, preaching, writing, politics, sports and so on. I also watch YouTube videos of random, everyday people sharing how they have accomplished what they have or giving advice on a particular subject that interests me -- anything to gain more insight. My brain is always absorbing -- probably too much!

It is important to have people from whom we learn because if we're not growing, we're dying. I read in a local pastor's book that we need five kinds of people in our lives: Some encourage us, some discourage us (when we need to be discouraged from something), some guide us, some mentor us and some celebrate us.

Flourish: What's next for you?

Adrienne: Good question! I believe more opportunities to speak and write will open up, and I look forward to that, in addition to authoring more books. So much remains to be seen, but I believe God has a plan and that I will continue to see things unfold that will enable me to be a blessing and a source of inspiration to others.

Flourish: Last question -- What is your favorite quote from Aunt Alma?

Adrienne: So many quotes are out there, and every conversation with her brings more quotes! I think, however, I would say that one of my most beloved is "Ain't nobody in heaven raisin' hell." It's not the funniest necessarily, but it jumps out at me because there is so much in that quote. It speaks of faith and how we comport ourselves, and the implications of both -- without spelling out any of that; it's all inherent in the quote itself. It does tickle me also because my aunt raises a little hell here and there (and everywhere!), but she's convinced she does not! The quote was so popular, I made it the foundation of the first #AuntAlma book title, "#AuntAlma: Raisin' a Little Hell Heaven on Earth."