Jim Costa: “Every March, we come together to honor trailblazing women who have come before us, who have made a difference throughout…”

“Every March, we come together to honor trailblazing women who have come before us, who have made a difference throughout the history of our country and throughout the world, and those who continue to pave the way for the next generation, those who have broken the glass ceiling, and those who are role models. {time} 1030 The unsung heroines of these courageous pioneering women continue to always make a difference. The role model for me, and one who I must say made the incredible difference, was our mother, Lena Cordoza Costa, a daughter of immigrants, born before the Depression, raised during it, having to quit school as a freshman in high school to help raise her seven siblings because her father had been injured in an agricultural accident. She went on with our father to be--as Tom Brokaw noted--perhaps America's greatest generation, striving with the values of hard work, of teaching us to treat others as we would want to be treated ourselves, and values of common sense. As a young boy, learning that, Jim, you know, the truth is the truth, and that you should always never forget those who are less fortunate. After our father passed away, my mother in her mid-70s quietly decided to go back to school and to get her GED. She didn't need to. She was a successful business person; she was an artist, a voracious reader, and a competitive bridge player. And when she got her GED, she told my sister and me. We said, Mom, why didn't you tell us?…”