SEE ME BE ME: Marcia Brissett-Bailey on finding her voice
Marcia Brissett Bailey has spent her life finding solutions to issues in education and workplace systems. Her mission involves motivating others to embrace identity and diversity in their path towards success, particularly dyslexic and neurodivergent students. Rising Stars100 Winner, author of Black, Brilliant, and Dyslexic, a trustee, speaker and lots more, her insight is truly fascinating.
SEE ME BE ME is a podcast that spotlights diverse talent from every and any career path.
I didn’t get diagnosed with dyslexia until I was 16. For me, I never felt I was good enough. I always had this impostor syndrome, or feeling that I was sabotaging things. School was always comparing me with what they felt I should be, where I should be at. So that really gave me a setback.
But I think over time, once I found my voice and had that diagnosis of being dyslexic, it really helped me to navigate the system, and I felt sometimes I had to hack the system to show up. I’ve really had to dig deep – I’ve had to use resilience, not only from the cultural perspective but also from finding the place to learn to ask people when I needed help, because that wasn’t necessarily the way I was when I was growing up.
I grew up thinking you don’t tell people your business, you don’t ask people nothing, you just find a way. And I’m saying that because it was really instrumental for me to get into where I am. Because I didn’t have that, I wanted to help others.
Me getting a degree – I was the first person in my family, and first generation. It’s a building block of resilience that got me to where I am today. I can’t believe it – it’s kind of struck me over time that people are saying I’m an influencer. And I’m like, how am I an influencer? I just found my voice. I just found my voice, and I use that platform to tell my story and change that narrative.