04/12/2025
I was a teenager when my mom went back to college. I remember the weekends she’d gather with classmates around an anatomy manikin, and the late nights she’d stay up finishing homework—only to wake up a few hours later to get us ready for school and head to her full-time job. She was a single mom of four, on welfare, trying to build a better life. And while it all looked hard, I could tell she was lit up by the learning. She was into it. Her dream was to become a nurse.
At the time, I didn’t fully understand what she was carrying. I was too wrapped up in my own teenage world to see the sacrifices she was making. It wasn’t until I was an adult that she shared the full story: she had completed her associate’s degree and been accepted into a nursing program—but she turned it down. The school was too far, and we needed her. So she set aside her dream, because being our mom came first.
That choice—the quiet power of it—didn’t hit me until much later. But as I reflect on who I am now, in my twenties, thirties, and forties, I see it clearly. Empowering women has always been at the core of who I am. And now I understand why. It’s because I saw what sacrifice looks like. I saw what strength looks like. Even though she didn’t get to chase her dream, she showed me how to go after mine.
Recently, some friends asked me about the brand I’ve been building—what it stands for, what I’m really about. And I told them: out of every 100 women I meet, if I can inspire even one to go after her dreams, I will have done something meaningful.
And so today, I’m sharing the name I chose to carry that mission forward: A. Hundredth.
It’s more than a brand. It’s a reminder that women have it in them to strive for and attain the things that might feel out of reach. Sometimes, all it takes is a little inspiration, a spark, a story. Sometimes, it’s just someone to look up to—the way I’ve always looked up to her.
