Four women who took a chance and started their own business shared their journeys of becoming the women they are today in the “Girl Boss” panel hosted by the Public Relations Student Society of America on Feb. 22.
Serena Scanzillo, founder of SerenaFit; Alyssa Petersel, founder of My Wellbeing; Jenna Guarneri, president of JMG Public Relations; and Estee Goldschmidt, co-founder of application ShopDrop, spoke about their challenges and defined what it meant to them to be a “girl boss.”

“[A] girl boss is someone who just really proud of herself, who is successful in her own right,” said Scanzillo. “Defining success in her own way, making an impact, helping people feel better and empowered on a large scale.”

Scanzillo started SerenaFit, an online fitness training program, to make an impact on someone’s life through fitness and health.

“When you are fit and healthy, there is really no telling what you can do,” said Scanzillo. “You feel confident. You feel good in your clothes. You want to do more things and knowing that I have power in that field is extremely motivating for me.”

Petersel founded My Wellbeing, a website that helps you find the right therapist, advises to build a strong support system to overcome challenges.

“I would say go for it. Go for what you want to do. Commit to it for a certain amount of time knowing that it would probably post a lot of challenges,” said Petersel. “So withstand those and build the support system, ask for help and feed your relationships.”

“Girl boss to me is someone who is strong and confident, strong enough to admit vulnerability as well and ask for help when she needs it,” said Petersel. “But in tune with her own intuition and very strong internal support system, being able to withstand a lot of insecurities and instability.”

Guarneri explained the inspiration behind the idea of a “girl boss.”

“I think everyone still strives to be the ultimate girl boss. I don’t think you ever stop wanting to be a girl boss. There is an inspiration behind it,” she said. “I think a girl boss is a power house. It’s just the feeling that you want to conquer the world and excel and break down barriers and keep being a badass kind of chick.”