Toni Reece: Hi there. This is Toni Reece, and welcome to the Get Inspired! Project for Berks County Living Magazine. Today I have Rebecca Ezolt with me. Welcome, Rebecca.
Rebecca Ezolt: Hi, Toni. Thank you. Thanks for having me.
Toni: How are you today?
Rebecca: I’m doing awesome. I’m super pumped to be here and talk about inspiration with you.
Toni: Oh, great. Tell us a little bit about yourself.
Rebecca: Well, I have lived here in Berks County I guess 15+ years now. I’m originally from Northern New Jersey and went to Albright College, and I’ll touch on that probably in a few minutes. I went to Albright College, studied fashion and business with the intent of moving back to Jersey and working in the city. Ended up at Albright kicking and screaming because it was my dad’s alma mater, and he wanted me to go check it out. I did it kind of under protest, and after being on campus for an hour, I felt at home. I didn’t apply anywhere else. I started my life in PA there, and have been here ever since, believe it or not with jobs in fashion ever since graduating. It’s been pretty cool.
Toni: Fantastic. Well, congratulations.
Rebecca: Thank you.
Toni: So let’s go into the Project, okay?
Rebecca: Yes.
Toni: All right. So, what does inspiration mean to you?
Rebecca: Inspiration to me is the starting line. It’s the feeling that you get. For me, it’s the warm and fuzzy that I get when I am in nature, when I come in contact with people that pique my curiosity, make me want to do more, do better. Then, to me it’s what I do with my inspiration, because I’m a people person. I’m always talking to people and wanting to learn about them. I get inspired very easily. To me what kind of makes the difference is what you do with that inspiration and how you let it play out in your life.
On my way here, I parked over in the parking lot on Court Street, and I said, “Good morning,” to a family that was in the elevator. I said, “Oh, are these your kids? They’re beautiful.” They said, “No, we’re fostering them.” I’m like, “Wow. I’m going to talk about inspiration and there’s a beautiful couple who is fostering these beautiful children. That’s inspiration.” That’s what gives me that feeling, like, wow! There’s a lot we can do in this world to make it a great place.
Toni: I love the way you described that it’s like a starting line for you. How do you take what inspires you and put that into practice here in Berks County?
Rebecca: I think I take what inspires me and I just try to do good in big and small ways. A lot of times, you think of big donors or people who spend a lot of time volunteering. They’re super inspirational people, but I think sometimes we forget that each of us has the opportunity every single day to inspire others; every single person that crosses our path. To hold the door open, to say, “Good morning,” to say, “Oh, are those your kids? They’re gorgeous,” and then you learn something about that person that you never would have learned before. Here in Berks County, I try to be a blessing to the people that I come in contact with. One of my largest draws of inspiration is my faith and what I hear at church, and what I hear from people in that community, and just trying to put that into practice in big and small ways on a daily basis.
Toni: Give me another example of when you returned that inspiration, even if it was the smallest of gestures.
Rebecca: My husband is a big inspiration to me, and he’s taught me over the years about…we go through our day to day and we can kind of be in this bubble of tunnel vision where you could walk by 100 people on the street and you don’t even see them. I’ve become much more present in terms of who is around me, and I just try to again, through small acts, just being aware of who’s there and holding the door open. Saying, “Good morning,” to somebody when you walk by on the street. Just living by that example, I think, especially with everything that’s going on in the world right now in our society and our culture — especially on social media you get a lot of courage.
It’s almost like the Wizard of Oz at the end of the yellow brick road. It’s like we’re all so brave and loud and angry and this and that on our Facebook page, but then when you pull back the curtain, how much are we really doing to make a difference? How much are we just a loud voice and talking the talk? To me, inspiration, and again that starting line is when I’m inspired. I need to act on it. I need to do something to make my community, my home, my neighborhood a better place. I think again, being inspired is the starting point into that action.
Toni: Oh, I love that. Who in Berks County inspires you?
Rebecca: I mentioned I’m the Sales and Marketing Director of the Folino Estate, and just in the last few months I’ve had a lot of life changes. I have a four-month-old son who totally has turned my world right side up and is just incredible. During that same period of time, I was reevaluating some things that I was doing, and had been following Folino Estate from a distance. I’ve known Andrea and Marco for years through some different colleagues and whatnot, but I was inspired by their business model. I was inspired by this place that they built that wasn’t just a restaurant or an event venue. It is a place where you can experience and create memories and go there with your family and friends and just really feel special. It’s kind of the blank canvas for really great memories. That is something that I really value.
I was super inspired by them, and actually approached them. That’s why I’m there now is that I just went up there for brunch one Sunday with my husband and I said, “We’re doing a research project. I think I really want to come work here. I think this place is really cool.” I was inspired by them, and I acted on it. I said, “What do I have to lose?” I emailed her and said, “Let’s get together. I think I could help you guys out.” One thing led to another and here I am, and loving every single minute of it.
Toni: So you were inspired by the place that became your starting line. You were brave enough to kick it off from that line to go sit there and say, “Hey, I’d like to be part of this.”
Rebecca: Yeah.
Toni: It moved you into action.
Rebecca: Yeah.
Toni: Anybody else in Berks County that inspires you?
Rebecca: I mean, the reason that I stayed in Pennsylvania after Albright, Albert Boscov came into one of my marketing classes and Rich Schott was my professor. This is another one of these moments that I won't forget, and I’ve told this story a thousand times. I’m at Albright, planning to move back to Jersey after graduation. I was a sophomore at the time. Albert Boscov came into my marketing class, and again, my whole world pivoted. I said from that point on, “I need to get into that executive training program. I want to work at Boscov’s.”
They had recruiters come on campus every semester, and they would interview for this executive training program. I started going to the interviews every semester, even though I knew I couldn’t get hired until after I graduated. By the time I was a senior actually interviewing for the job, the recruiter sat there and said, “All right, Rebecca. What’s new?” I was inspired by him, his business model, his drive, his ethics, his philanthropy, his energy. I just knew I wanted to work for that company and in light of the news that came out yesterday about his health, that is something that really stands out.
He’s inspired me ever since, and it will continue to be his legacy of inspiring thousands and thousands of people over the years. Albert Boscov has always been a huge, huge inspiration to me, even just from that one encounter. I did end up getting the job at Boscov’s, and went through the executive training program, and here we are today. I have a husband and a son and a great life that I really attribute a lot of that to that moment and to that point in time.
Toni: What a wonderful tribute, and that you got a chance to say so.
Rebecca: Again, I talk about my faith, but the timing of a lot of things I’ve seen in my life have been impeccable things that I could have never planned out. Getting the opportunity to sit here and actually verbalize on a recording what that all meant to me is really special.
Toni: That’s awesome. So, what do you want your legacy to be?
Rebecca: I think I want my legacy, more than anything, to be my son and any future children. Leaving behind a generation that’s going to take care of this planet, be kind to others, give more than we take. I am trying in my own life to get back to the basics and to really value human interaction and to have relationships. I don’t need to have the most friends, but the friends I have, those are special relationships that I treasure and cherish. I just want my legacy to be that I was real and that I contributed and that I left it all on the court. Again, I probably comment very infrequently on social media and Facebook because I don’t want to be a talker. I want to be a walker. I want to be in action and put the phone down and go out and do something about it. I think that’s what I want my legacy to be.
Toni: As I’ve said many, many times in these interviews, people don’t realize that they are already living their legacy. Rebecca, thank you so very much for showing up, for all of your kind words, and thank you for being part of the Get Inspired! Project.
Rebecca: Thank you.
Toni Reece: Hi there. This is Toni Reece, and welcome to the Get Inspired! Project for Berks County Living Magazine. Today I have Rebecca Ezolt with me. Welcome, Rebecca.
Rebecca Ezolt: Hi, Toni. Thank you. Thanks for having me.
Toni: How are you today?
Rebecca: I’m doing awesome. I’m super pumped to be here and talk about inspiration with you.
Toni: Oh, great. Tell us a little bit about yourself.
Rebecca: Well, I have lived here in Berks County I guess 15+ years now. I’m originally from Northern New Jersey and went to Albright College, and I’ll touch on that probably in a few minutes. I went to Albright College, studied fashion and business with the intent of moving back to Jersey and working in the city. Ended up at Albright kicking and screaming because it was my dad’s alma mater, and he wanted me to go check it out. I did it kind of under protest, and after being on campus for an hour, I felt at home. I didn’t apply anywhere else. I started my life in PA there, and have been here ever since, believe it or not with jobs in fashion ever since graduating. It’s been pretty cool.
Toni: Fantastic. Well, congratulations.
Rebecca: Thank you.
Toni: So let’s go into the Project, okay?
Rebecca: Yes.
Toni: All right. So, what does inspiration mean to you?
Rebecca: Inspiration to me is the starting line. It’s the feeling that you get. For me, it’s the warm and fuzzy that I get when I am in nature, when I come in contact with people that pique my curiosity, make me want to do more, do better. Then, to me it’s what I do with my inspiration, because I’m a people person. I’m always talking to people and wanting to learn about them. I get inspired very easily. To me what kind of makes the difference is what you do with that inspiration and how you let it play out in your life.
On my way here, I parked over in the parking lot on Court Street, and I said, “Good morning,” to a family that was in the elevator. I said, “Oh, are these your kids? They’re beautiful.” They said, “No, we’re fostering them.” I’m like, “Wow. I’m going to talk about inspiration and there’s a beautiful couple who is fostering these beautiful children. That’s inspiration.” That’s what gives me that feeling, like, wow! There’s a lot we can do in this world to make it a great place.
Toni: I love the way you described that it’s like a starting line for you. How do you take what inspires you and put that into practice here in Berks County?
Rebecca: I think I take what inspires me and I just try to do good in big and small ways. A lot of times, you think of big donors or people who spend a lot of time volunteering. They’re super inspirational people, but I think sometimes we forget that each of us has the opportunity every single day to inspire others; every single person that crosses our path. To hold the door open, to say, “Good morning,” to say, “Oh, are those your kids? They’re gorgeous,” and then you learn something about that person that you never would have learned before. Here in Berks County, I try to be a blessing to the people that I come in contact with. One of my largest draws of inspiration is my faith and what I hear at church, and what I hear from people in that community, and just trying to put that into practice in big and small ways on a daily basis.
Toni: Give me another example of when you returned that inspiration, even if it was the smallest of gestures.
Rebecca: My husband is a big inspiration to me, and he’s taught me over the years about…we go through our day to day and we can kind of be in this bubble of tunnel vision where you could walk by 100 people on the street and you don’t even see them. I’ve become much more present in terms of who is around me, and I just try to again, through small acts, just being aware of who’s there and holding the door open. Saying, “Good morning,” to somebody when you walk by on the street. Just living by that example, I think, especially with everything that’s going on in the world right now in our society and our culture — especially on social media you get a lot of courage.
It’s almost like the Wizard of Oz at the end of the yellow brick road. It’s like we’re all so brave and loud and angry and this and that on our Facebook page, but then when you pull back the curtain, how much are we really doing to make a difference? How much are we just a loud voice and talking the talk? To me, inspiration, and again that starting line is when I’m inspired. I need to act on it. I need to do something to make my community, my home, my neighborhood a better place. I think again, being inspired is the starting point into that action.
Toni: Oh, I love that. Who in Berks County inspires you?
Rebecca: I mentioned I’m the Sales and Marketing Director of the Folino Estate, and just in the last few months I’ve had a lot of life changes. I have a four-month-old son who totally has turned my world right side up and is just incredible. During that same period of time, I was reevaluating some things that I was doing, and had been following Folino Estate from a distance. I’ve known Andrea and Marco for years through some different colleagues and whatnot, but I was inspired by their business model. I was inspired by this place that they built that wasn’t just a restaurant or an event venue. It is a place where you can experience and create memories and go there with your family and friends and just really feel special. It’s kind of the blank canvas for really great memories. That is something that I really value.
I was super inspired by them, and actually approached them. That’s why I’m there now is that I just went up there for brunch one Sunday with my husband and I said, “We’re doing a research project. I think I really want to come work here. I think this place is really cool.” I was inspired by them, and I acted on it. I said, “What do I have to lose?” I emailed her and said, “Let’s get together. I think I could help you guys out.” One thing led to another and here I am, and loving every single minute of it.
Toni: So you were inspired by the place that became your starting line. You were brave enough to kick it off from that line to go sit there and say, “Hey, I’d like to be part of this.”
Rebecca: Yeah.
Toni: It moved you into action.
Rebecca: Yeah.
Toni: Anybody else in Berks County that inspires you?
Rebecca: I mean, the reason that I stayed in Pennsylvania after Albright, Albert Boscov came into one of my marketing classes and Rich Schott was my professor. This is another one of these moments that I won't forget, and I’ve told this story a thousand times. I’m at Albright, planning to move back to Jersey after graduation. I was a sophomore at the time. Albert Boscov came into my marketing class, and again, my whole world pivoted. I said from that point on, “I need to get into that executive training program. I want to work at Boscov’s.”
They had recruiters come on campus every semester, and they would interview for this executive training program. I started going to the interviews every semester, even though I knew I couldn’t get hired until after I graduated. By the time I was a senior actually interviewing for the job, the recruiter sat there and said, “All right, Rebecca. What’s new?” I was inspired by him, his business model, his drive, his ethics, his philanthropy, his energy. I just knew I wanted to work for that company and in light of the news that came out yesterday about his health, that is something that really stands out.
He’s inspired me ever since, and it will continue to be his legacy of inspiring thousands and thousands of people over the years. Albert Boscov has always been a huge, huge inspiration to me, even just from that one encounter. I did end up getting the job at Boscov’s, and went through the executive training program, and here we are today. I have a husband and a son and a great life that I really attribute a lot of that to that moment and to that point in time.
Toni: What a wonderful tribute, and that you got a chance to say so.
Rebecca: Again, I talk about my faith, but the timing of a lot of things I’ve seen in my life have been impeccable things that I could have never planned out. Getting the opportunity to sit here and actually verbalize on a recording what that all meant to me is really special.
Toni: That’s awesome. So, what do you want your legacy to be?
Rebecca: I think I want my legacy, more than anything, to be my son and any future children. Leaving behind a generation that’s going to take care of this planet, be kind to others, give more than we take. I am trying in my own life to get back to the basics and to really value human interaction and to have relationships. I don’t need to have the most friends, but the friends I have, those are special relationships that I treasure and cherish. I just want my legacy to be that I was real and that I contributed and that I left it all on the court. Again, I probably comment very infrequently on social media and Facebook because I don’t want to be a talker. I want to be a walker. I want to be in action and put the phone down and go out and do something about it. I think that’s what I want my legacy to be.
Toni: As I’ve said many, many times in these interviews, people don’t realize that they are already living their legacy. Rebecca, thank you so very much for showing up, for all of your kind words, and thank you for being part of the Get Inspired! Project.
Rebecca: Thank you.
