This edition, we are kicking off our Spotlight Series which attempts to capture the diverse stories and members of our Patina Network community. If you are interested in sharing your story, please sign up here!

Andrea Matsudaira

Patina Network Co-Chair

“What I wish I’d known in college…I wish someone would’ve told me that it’s all going to be ok. At the beginning of sophomore year, I was really hard on myself and thought that I’ll never get a job if my grades aren’t perfect and don’t get the right internship. But where I am now is still ok; I tried really hard and things worked out, and when it felt like things didn’t work out, where I am now is still great.

I turned out exactly how I pictured myself in my head. Watching women in corporate shows as the dragon lady, I thought they were so cool and badass and never thought that’d be me. But after having worked for 6 years now, it’s funny to hear the juniors at work say, “Oh, Andrea’s so serious about her job and intimidating.” The imposter syndrome is still so real and I really felt that when applying to jobs in NYC where everything feels cutthroat. But when I actually started my current role and could stack myself against others, I realized that I was pretty impressive myself. I realized that if I don’t enter the room confident in myself, and comfortable knowing what I do and don’t know, I couldn’t succeed. 

If I hadn’t had people surrounding me, believing in me, I wouldn’t be where I am now with my level of confidence and comfortability in who I am. So, I would like to say to whoever is reading this that you’re doing a great job, and if you ever need an ear to vent to or a shoulder to lean on, I can be both.”