Meet Myja Gary | Miss Black USA 2021, Host, Speaker, Podcaster & Zoom Communications Manager

We had the good fortune of connecting with Myja Gary and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Myja, what do you attribute your success to?
My brand is all about advocating for and empowering women to be strong, confident and fearless enough to chase their dreams and believe anything is possible. The most important factor behind the success of my brand is my impact. I still have a long way to go, but for those who follow my journey, support me, listen to my podcast faithfully, and so on, are those who have been inspired by something I said or did or how I made them feel and that’s why I’ve made it this far. I made a commitment to empower women and be an advocate for women and I’ve stuck to that and the fruits of my labor are blossoming. As long as I continue on that same path with that same mission to be impactful and inspire others, I know success will continue to come to me. Your mission or goal is always the most important when building your brand.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Professionally, I am a Corporate Communications Manager at Zoom where I serve as a strategic advisor and communications consultant to internal stakeholders and executive leaders. I also serve as Miss Black USA 2021 and through my platform, Bridging the Gap, I advocate for women’s leadership through mentorship, career readiness and community building programs to help create the next generation of women leaders.In addition, I am the creator and host of Ask Myj The Podcast, a podcast outlet that explores career, relationships and dating, lifestyle, and pop culture as a millennial Black girl.

My deep raspy voice and my energetic personality is what sets me apart from others. I believe in always being my most authentic self, and displaying confidence in every room I walk in. I always maintain a high, upbeat, and positive energy that is guaranteed to spread to others.

I am most proud of the fact that everything I do aligns with my mission to use my voice to inspire women to be strong, confident, and fearless. I want to be an advocate and inspiration for women, especially Black women, to chase their dreams and believe that anything is possible and it shows through all of my various outlets, through my professional career at Zoom, my role as Miss Black USA, and my podcast outlet. I know that I have been an inspiration thus far from the stories and reflections that other Black women share with me and my positive impact on other women is truly what makes me successful. I am really grateful for how far I’ve come, but I’m even more excited for where God is taking me.

My tenacity and determination is what got me to where I am today professionally, and no it was not easy at all. I have my goals, I write them down in several different places, I pray about them and give them to God, and then I am on go, doing everything I can until I reach those goals. That tenacious and determined mindset is how I’ve gotten to where I am. The best way to overcome challenges is to just keep going. Anytime I trip up, or things don’t go my way, I always remind myself that it’s just a minor setback for a major comeback. You can never lose, you only learn. The biggest I’ve learned from overcoming challenges is to not focus so much on the loss or the failure, but instead focusing more on the silver line or the lesson in the loss. When I feel like I’ve loss or I’ve failed, I always pray and ask God to give me clarity and show me what he wants me to gain from the situation. That helps me not to focus on the disappointment or feel discouraged, but moreso helps me focus on how this situation benefited me in the end.

I want people to look at my story and think to themselves, if she can do it, so can I. I want people to see me and be inspired to chase their dreams and go after whatever it is that their heart desires. I want people to look at me and believe that anything is possible. I want my story to be an inspiration for others to be strong, confident, and fearless.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I am a huge foodie and I loveee Asian food, especially Ramen, so I would take my best friend to a cool Ramen spot. I am also a sucker for great views, so I would take her to a rooftop bar in the city with great views and even better cocktails. During the warmer months when Covid wasn’t a thing, I really enjoy food, wine and concert festivals, so we are doing booking tickets to a cool festival happening downtown when there’s great weather. I can’t forget about brunch, so I would definitely take her to a super cute brunch spot with great food, drinks, and of course all the aesthetics for the perfect photo opp! Going to the spa is definitely an addiction of mine, so we have to book a massage and facial before I send her off!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I believe that as Black women it is our job to either create a seat at the table or build our own table and then reach back and pull up other Black women to join us at those tables that we created. I am so grateful for several Black women who helped to create a seat at the table for me and volunteered my name in spaces that I would have never thought possible. Sponsorship coupled with mentorship is so important in communities of Black women to help each other elevate. A few shoutouts I’d like to give are to Karen Arrington, Founder & CEO of the Miss Black USA Organization; Ronnie Dickerson Stewart, Diversity Equity & Inclusion Marketplace & Community Lead at Zoom; Nicole Gray, Customer Success Manager at Zoom; Bonnie Davis, former Journalism professor at NC A&T State University; and Dontia Barrett Brown, Assistant Vice President of Diversity Recruiting at Bank of America.

Website: MyjaGary.com Coming Soon!

Instagram: @askmyj__

Linkedin: Myja Gary

Twitter: @askmyj__

Facebook: Myja Gary

Youtube: Ask Myj The Podcast

Image Credits
Javon Roye Carlos Velez Marliese Carmona