 Hello Columbia and welcome to This Week in the City. Highlights brought to you from the public relations, media and marketing department with the City of Columbia. I am your host, Alicia Utsi. Hello Columbia. On This Week in the City, we bring you a special feature in honor of Women's History Month. We share with you a special video profile of two of our City Council members, both who serve our population, one at large and one in district one. Both of these women are role models and are making history in their very own way. We give you Councilwoman Aditi Bussels and Councilwoman Tina Herbert. Women's History Month is especially important because women bring a much-needed perspective to the table. We have traditionally been left out of decision-making, we've been left out of positions of leadership, we've been left out of areas in which the decisions made impact our everyday lives. And this month it's important for us to recognize that when women aren't at the table, you're not getting the full picture and you're certainly not making decisions that are going to benefit everyone. Being the first South Asian woman elected to City Council is overwhelming. It's something that I think about in terms of how exciting it is but also it's 2021 when this happened and we're just getting the first elected and that's the balance that I keep close to me as I realize that I'm representing a group of people in Colombia and frankly South Carolina that haven't been represented in a very very long time. You know and I and I wanted to shed light about the South Asian and Asian-American community throughout my campaign and even now as your City Councilwoman. I want people to understand that there is a diversity in South Carolina and in Colombia and with that rich diversity comes an opportunity for us to incorporate new ways of doing things. So from sharing how I pronounce my name correctly to some of the traditions that my family holds, I hope that that inspires young brown girls, brown boys to step up and because they see someone that looks like them and they say I can do that because I can be that and I can make a difference in my community. That's really what this is all about for me. So I would say that my entire life I've been lucky to be surrounded by women who in different ways have been leaders whether it's been leaders in our family, leaders in government, leaders at their job and they've always instilled in me this confidence that it's okay to speak up and cause some trouble because the worst thing that happens is you make it easier for people behind you even if you get in a little bit of trouble. So I would say that my grandma, my nani is what we call it in Hindi, my mom, my college professors, women here in South Carolina that have really been behind me every step of the way. Making me feel like it's okay when things are not okay is exactly why I am where I am. I know that it can be very scary to make the decision to step up and run for office or to get involved in your community but know that it's worth it. Don't let anyone make you feel like you're less than or that you're not enough because your perspective is so important whether it's your lived experiences or what you've been trained in or the customs and traditions that you've come from. You are more than enough, you are qualified, step up and do it and make a difference in your community. Being the first woman elected in my district has been pretty cool I guess is a truthful answer and I'm really excited about it because by virtue of being the first it means that I know that there will be plenty more coming in the future. And so I'm just going to work as best as I can to make sure that I provide a great example for other ladies and other women who may be considering running for this seat or any other seat on city council or elected office. It is very important. I love RBG and when she said that anywhere the decisions are being made women need to be in the room and that's because we just have a unique perspective and I think that when we're making decisions about cities and communities you need to have diverse perspectives so that you really have thoughtful resolutions and thoughtful answers to community concerns. I always say if you see a problem and it really irritates you and so if something is going on in your city you're like I'm tired of this going on in my city that probably means that you are you're being called to do something in government and so follow the calling do your research learn study practice talking to a lot of people because you're going to end up talking a whole lot more than you think and just go after it. You may not win the first time but find a mentor who can help give you the steps and then just really really work hard at it. I kind of find that people who are one and done probably really didn't want it maybe they just wanted fame or they just wanted people to see them but if you really commit it you'll put the work in put the time in put the resources in so that you're successful and if you fail the first time or you're not successful the first time then try again. In my professional life I have Judge Allison Lee is a judge that I clerked for as well as my current boss and Mikkel who founded the Mikkel and Bass law firm and then and with respect to government and city council I'm a real big Maxine Walters fan. She's just awesome to me but then my dear friend Tamika Isaac Devine I knew Tamika before she ran and I watched her run and I tell people these days that in watching her run I really had no doubt that I could do the same thing and so I think it's very pivotal for young girls to to find those people that are in positions or who've done it before to see how they did it learn from learn what they did and how they did it what worked what didn't work and it does help build the confidence in you that you can also do it too.