imposter.
Sophie had always been a high achiever. She graduated top of her class and landed her dream critical care transport paramedic job. Despite her accomplishments, she couldn’t shake the feeling that she didn’t belong there.
She felt like an imposter as she walked through the station doors on her first day. Everyone seemed to know so much more than her, and she worried she couldn’t keep up. Her colleagues seemed to effortlessly breeze through every emergency, while Sophie struggled to grasp even the basics.
Sophie’s imposter syndrome only grew worse as time went on. She became obsessed with her work, staying up late into the night to catch up with her colleagues. She avoided socializing outside of work, afraid that someone would discover she wasn’t as smart as everyone thought.
One day, the supervisor called Sophie into her office; She was sure she would fire her. Instead, he sat her down and asked her how she was doing. Sophie broke down in tears, telling her how she felt like an imposter and was afraid she would be exposed as a fraud.
Her boss listened patiently, then shared his own experience with imposter syndrome. She explained that many people feel this way when starting a new job and that it is completely normal. She encouraged her to be kind to herself and to stop comparing herself to others.
Sophie realized she had been so focused on trying to be perfect that she had lost sight of what was important. She began to approach her work differently, asking for help when needed and focusing on her growth rather than trying to impress others.
At FAST23, we are honored to welcome Sara Kaull to our lineup of incredible speakers as she shares how we can battle Imposter Syndrome in our own lives. As a natural-born creator, Sara has grown and sold multiple ventures, spent over a decade leading a real estate office as the managing broker, and created the non-profit, Million Girl Army, focused on providing middle school girls a voice as the next generation of world changers.
