1. Where were you born and raised; current city; family; hobbies; past business highlights.
I grew up in Marshall, VA – a very small, rural town 40 miles west of Washington, DC. I have been married to Darrian Summerville, Sr. for 22 years (having known him for 24) and we have four beautiful children, DJ (21), Phillip (17), Damaris (9) and Christian (7). I enjoy shopping, linguistics, interior design and designing and sketching for my fashion brand, Lydia Lavash.
2. How have you grown or personally developed since joining PlanNet?
I have personally developed and grown within PlanNet Marketing by hearing the testimonies of so many others who've shown me it's okay to dream and to never be afraid of greatness. I have also grown by being willing to accept constructive criticism more gracefully.
3. What drives you; what motivates you?
Obviously my children motivate me, but I ultimately believe my greatest motivation is seeing the windfall profits from PlanNet Marketing being used to further expand Lydia Lavash. I have been learning how to sew for the last five years but have been designing since 1995. I feel that if I have additional finances to pay seamstresses and tailors to make the garments I dream up and envision, I won't be so easily frustrated by my current sewing abilities or lack thereof.
4. Who would you consider a role model and why?
I consider Jesus Christ of Nazareth to be my biggest role model because he bore the sins of all humanity on the cross that we might all be set free, delivered and placed in right standing with Creator God. If I could sit down and have a conversation with someone, the three individuals at the top of my list would be Ann Lowe, Samuel Yette and Malcolm X.
5. The three words that describe me best are:
Dependable, Tenacious and Compassionate.
6. If you had some sound advice to give to anyone what would it be?
If I had advice to give someone it would be to plug in and listen the first time to what your coaches are telling you to do and not question or deviate from their guidance. (You will waste precious time and will find your success hindered and delayed by your lack of coachability.)
7. What does your life look like five years from now?
Five years from now, my family and I are living in a spacious all sides brick, stone or stucco home in northern Virginia. The home has a meditation garden, pool, and space for entertaining. I have multiple seamstresses and tailors constructing garments for my brand and we will have opened a boutique to showcase our creativity. I will have launched my shoe line through collaboration with Unmarked (Leon, Mexico) and Embassy Designs (Mumbai, India). Lydia Lavash will have had its second fashion show (first one was July 2019). My husband's business ventures with Dr. Iyanu Odebode will be exploding like our previous business, EZ Language Services, where we had multiple Fortune 100 clients. My husband will have also produced his second music CD and I am sure I will have rapped and sung on it). College tuition accounts for our two younger children will be fully funded. Last but not least, our family collectively will have bought back the land my grandfather acquired through share-cropping that was unfortunately sold by other members of the family.