The Get Inspired! Project – Nicole Mathis October 10, 2013 2:16 PM × Listen to the interview here! Nicole Mathis Your browser does not support the audio element. Toni Reece: Hi there. This is Toni Reece. Welcome to the Get Inspired! Project for Berks County Living Magazine. Today I have Nicole Mathis with me. Hi, Nicole. Nicole Mathis: Hi, Toni. Toni: Nicole, tell me a little bit about yourself. Nicole: As you said, my name is Nicole Mathis, and I work at Carpenter Technology. I am a HR Coordinator there in the Employee Relations department. We provide support to all of our employees, whether it be personal or work-related. We’re there for employees to make their lives at work and at home better for them. Toni: That sounds very commendable. Let’s go into the first question of the Project. What does inspiration mean to you? Nicole: Inspiration means to me that when you see something or when you’re around something, some interaction that sparks something inside of you; something that makes you want to get up and do something, be creative. Toni: So does creativity automatically tie to inspiration for you? Nicole: For me, yes, because I’m a very creative person. A lot of times I’ll be out walking around and I’ll see something, and it will spark an idea for me. Toni: Have you experienced that spark recently? Nicole: Yes. Actually, I would have to say more so it’s online than out and around, but Pinterest has become a pretty big thing for me, getting ideas from there. I am a photographer as well on the side, so when I’m out walking around the community I see beautiful landscapes, buildings, flowers, things of that nature, and it inspires me to go and grab my camera and try and make a beautiful picture out of it. Toni: Is inspiration something you think you can actually feel when it happens? Nicole: Yes, I would say so, only because for me, I get excited, and I associate that excited feeling with the inspiration. Toni: How do you put that excitement into practice here in Berks County? Nicole: To tie into my photography, I do from time to time take pictures for Berks County Living, so I feel that the things in nature and the community around here that inspire me go into my artwork, my photography, and then it is presented back to the community through the magazine. Toni: What was the last thing you’ve done for Berks County Living Magazine? Nicole: The last thing I did was a feature article on the home-schooling and cyber-schooling that is becoming more prevalent in the community and around the country, I believe. I went to two families in Berks County and photographed them with their children and observed them while they were doing some of their at-home projects, studying, things of that nature. Toni: Did you take away anything from that experience? Nicole: I would have to say as somebody who went through the public school system, it was a very different experience, because you kind of, at least for me, think of home-schooling as just sitting at the kitchen table working on worksheets – but these kids were outside doing archeological projects, and they were digging. They had gardens growing. It was very hands-on, very involved, more involved than I think anything I ever experienced in the public school system. It was very eye-opening to see how much of an effect it can have on a child to be home-schooled. People always think about, “They’re not getting the social skills that they need,” but in reality, they are. They’re getting a great education, a one-on-one education, and there are a lot of groups that these kids go to to socialize. They were just amazing children. Very intelligent and very active. Toni: It sounds like you were very inspired. Nicole: I was. Toni: Who in Berks County inspires you? Nicole: I would have to say the West Reading business owners inspire me. Toni: How so? Nicole: Walking down that street, there’s all these little unique, cute shops, whether they be restaurants or cafes or consignment shops, things of that nature. To me, it’s just amazing that these people have the drive and dedication to go out and take that risk and find some kind of inspiration to start that business. I would say, they are all very successful down there, and they have had a huge impact on the community in that area. Toni: You had mentioned that inspiration for you means that feeling of excitement that you get to take action. Nicole: Yes. Toni: Is that how you correlate that to being inspired by the shops in West Reading, that they actually had that courage to do it? Is that what it is for you? Nicole: Yes. I would have to agree with you on that. For me, I do the photography on the side, and even though it’s just a little side thing, it was scary taking that jump, but when you go out and you see other people doing it and you see them being successful, it gives you the power, the mindset to say, “Okay, I think I can do this.” Toni: And they are great mentors there, they really are. What would you like your legacy to be? Nicole: I’m a very career-focused individual right now, trying very hard to develop and grow within my company and current role, and hopefully will move up within the company over the years. That’s what I would like my legacy to be, for people, whether it be the community or just one individual, to look at me and say, “Wow – she was really focused. She was very inspired. She was very motivated, and I would love to have that passion and drive to do what she has done with her life.” Toni: I think it would be really cool for you to be able to teach women as you grow up in that ladder in that corporation, whether it’s this one or your next one … Nicole: Oh, definitely. Toni: … and teach them to find that passion, and then execute that passion and focus that you speak of right now. Nicole: Right. I couldn’t agree more. That would be amazing. Toni: That would be a great legacy, absolutely. Thank you so much for being part of the Get Inspired! Project. Nicole: Thank you. Back to Search Results