by Audio here(recorded in Galley)
The first thing our STEMSEAS crew heard about Langseth’s 3rd Mate, was that you shouldn’t sit in her seat in the galley. We avoided that seat out of respect to the ship’s rules, all the while wondering who was supposed to be occupying it. The first thing we saw of her were her ankle-long locs, out of the corner of our eyes as we stood in line at the galley. She got food and then went to sit in that same spot. We sat in silence, but we were all thinking the same thing, “That woman is so cool.” For one, she had a lot of confidence. She was silent, but her shoulders were back and her head was held high. She ate her meal in silence as we made conversation among ourselves.
She summarized our reaction in her interview. “In this industry, I’m either loved or hated.” As a woman of color in a heavily white male-dominated industry, Joselyn White has overcome a lot of trials in her life. She has had to single-handedly represent an underrepresented group in this industry, and the world, and it tends to provoke a lot of strong reactions. Something really admirable about Joselyn is that she is very transparent. She had no problem telling us about those hardships and the trials she has gone through not only in her line of work but in motherhood, being a black woman, and embracing your natural self.
To summarize her advice to other women who want to succeed in a man’s world, “You gotta be strong.” There needs to be a balance between fighting for yourself, and not being content in your own misery, and choosing your battles. To do what you love, you need to be resilient, and you need to take charge of your situation.
She especially emphasized having something to live for. She talked about prioritizing her son’s life during hard times, and then finding someone who really loves her for who she is. Having someone you live for is motivation within itself to want to do better and be the best version of yourself. She was truly a pleasure to speak to, and what was supposed to be a ten minute interview, turned into almost an hour of enlightening conversation that truly shows how she has developed as a person to be where she is today.
– Sasha Koulakova & Dejah Hopkins
