Ackerman: Young women need confidence

Sep. 6—LIMA — Jill Ackerman wants young women to be confident in male-dominated environments.

The Lima schools superintendent spoke about her own insecurities as one of the few female superintendents in Ohio during the Lima-Allen County Chamber of Commerce's quarterly Women in Business luncheon Thursday.

"Sometimes you find yourself in a room full of people that you feel are smarter or wittier than you might be," said Ackerman, who became an assistant principal at 28 years old.

"You can't let that intimidate you, because chances are you're the smartest person in that room."

The Chamber selected Ackerman as its Athena Award winner in May for supporting women in education.

Ackerman became superintendent of Lima schools in 2012.

She taught special education before she was promoted to assistant principal, principal and assistant superintendent of the district.

Ackerman learned independence and self-reliance from her mother, who became a widow when Ackerman was only 16 years old.

"I remember a day when she had the checkbook, the money and a deposit slip and walked into the bank and said, 'I don't know what to do. I don't know how to make a bank deposit,' " Ackerman recalled.

"From that moment forward, she vowed that we would never grow up being dependent on anyone else to take care of us, that we would figure it out on our own and be independent."

Ackerman passed those lessons along to her students, first as a special education teacher and later as an administrator.

To combat the insecurities young women often experience when they enter the workplace or leadership roles, Ackerman said girls need to learn they are smart and capable while they are young.

"It doesn't matter what your hair looks like," Ackerman said. "You are able to get out there and be successful. That's what matters. Nobody is better than you."