Editor’s note: “My Story” is where business executives share their personal and professional backgrounds and journeys that have made them who they are, in their own candid words, from the challenges of confronting stereotypes to the glory in overcoming them. Amid calls for racial justice, we can only make real change with greater awareness and understanding — and the ability to learn from each other’s experiences.
I first stepped into the ring at Crescent City Boxing Club in New Orleans when I was 23 years old.
Up until that point, my athletic experience largely consisted of being the base of the pyramid on my school’s cheerleading squad — which is no simple feat, I might add. With my wrists tightly wrapped underneath my gloves, I would bob and weave around the ring, dodging punches and doling out a few myself. From outside the ring, it may have looked simple: Angie Gates shuffling her feet and throwing punches. But on the inside, I hadn’t yet recognized the lessons…
Read the full story from the Washington Business Journal.
