Learn how to make a name for yourself with advice from the greatest girlboss we’ve encountered yet.
Every year teacher Tiffany Shulz chaperones a group of students and sometimes their parents to Europe with the company EF. This year the spring tour to Greece and Italy was so full that they had to acquire two separate tour guides. Bus 1’s tour guide Dionisio has been touring with Mrs. Shulz for years but bus 2’s tour guide Linda (pronounced leen-da) had never toured with Shulz before.
Who is Linda?
Linda is an Italian tour guide who studied English in England and has a degree in Linguistics. With the Education First organization, Linda works as a tour guide, in the HR department, and as an interpreter and translator. She also works as a trainer for new tour guides, and gets them set up with everything they need. Linda has been a guide around Europe for 24 years and a local guide for museums in Italy for about 13 years. Interestingly enough she claims that she became a tour guide by accident.
“I have a master’s in linguistics. So I studied to be an interpreter… As I was finishing my master’s I also had an internship with EF and during this internship it became a sort of collaboration based on seasons and during one season I discovered the tour guides existed. So within one year I switched over.”
Why did we think of her as a girlboss?
Linda speaks 3 languages fluently and knows enough Greek to “get by.” During the Europe trip, where the group walked at least five miles a day, and sometimes went on hikes, Linda wore heeled boots. Crossing streets in Europe, and especially in Greece, is terrifying, but Linda crossed without fear and with complete confidence all the time. When she wasn’t showing the group around cities and museums, she was on the phone making and confirming reservations and plans. She was working hard all the time, even during down time.
Mrs. Shulz when reflecting on her experience with Linda said, “I like that her ability to be a girl boss is built upon her work ethic, knowledge, and her ability to build relationships with people. I think those are her best traits and the key to her success of being “the boss” in Italy (an area of the world known for patriarchy and misogyny).”
Though some people may think of it as being pushy, one of the most impressive things about Linda is that she won’t take no for an answer. She always finds a way to get things done.
“…Most of the time people like Dionisio will say, ‘People say yes to you because you tire them out’. Yeah, if I want something I go all the way through until I get it in one way or another.”
What is Linda’s advice
For those searching to become a girlboss, Linda recommended working hard and not taking things personally, and remaining humble but not being unconfident.
Answering what got her to where she is she commented, “Hard work. Hard hard work. And don’t take it personal. Don’t take it personally because sometimes it feels like you want to take everything personally… Ignore anything that hurts you and upsets you just ignore, learn to ignore it and just go your own way.”
And regarding confidence she stated. “I guess I’m confident, although not fully confident which is something you don’t want to be… I think you gain confidence by being humble and let people help you if you need. You’re not – you’re not universal. You cannot do everything… So you know, stay with your feet on the ground.”
How can we apply her advice
In our daily lives, we can remember to stay confident without becoming arrogant and to work hard to establish ourselves in life. It’s also important that we go our own way and ignore what hurts us. To get where you’re going it is important to have good idols, so look up to strong women. And finally, keep in mind that it’s okay to stand up for yourself.
