Tamara Kelson-Norris is a W. P. Carey Full-Time MBA Class of 2022 Candidate and someone who brings her whole self to everything she does. She leads with incredible passion and leverages the important parts of her identity to be an outstanding teammate and friend. She's dedicated to putting her best effort into what she does and cares deeply to encourage and inspire others to be their best. Talk to her more and she would be glad to help support you in any way that she is able. Too often we hold back our identities because we fear being judged. In practice, we somehow forget that everyone has unique characteristics and qualities that make them special and that they want to be accepted for and understood. The sooner we break down the barriers and realize that we are all people who laugh, cry, love, hurt, and make mistakes, the sooner we can get to real connections where we not only accept each other but to welcome and validate each other to be great. Bringing your authentic parts of your identity to what you do not only frees you to focus on what you need to, it liberates others to overcome the fear as well. From there we can grow together as our real selves witness each other evolution.