Meet Firefighter Samanta
Who says girls can’t fight fires? Meet 20 year-old Samanta aka “Sammie” from the suburbs of New York. Sammie talks about her passion for her career and how she overcame obstacles to do what she loves. She also offers some great advice for future women firefighters. Read more
Meet Author Sondra Clark
If you think you have to wait until you reach adulthood to make a difference in the world, spend a few minutes with 18-year-old Sondra Clark from Bellingham, Washington. Sondra has traveled the world, volunteering in a plethora of situations where she saw a need she could fill. She is also the author of seven books, including her latest work titled 77 Creative Ways Kids Can Serve. An incredibly busy person, Sondra was kind enough to squeeze in this interview between her volunteering efforts and performing in two plays last week. Prepare to be inspired.
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Meet Drummer Samantha Landa
Meet Samantha Landa, a 21-year old heavy hitter from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada who loves nothing more than to play the drums. Samantha graciously completed an interview with Girls Can’t WHAT? where she explains how she got started as a drummer and offers tips to help young percussionists stick with their musical dreams.
Meet Cristina Lara
Meet 15-year-old political activist Cristina Lara from Fair Lawn New Jersey. A high school sophmore, this girl is not waiting for graduation to make a difference in her world. In 2007, she founded a a female empowerment youth organization called the Society of Young Leading Women. The society is for “the elite young women who believe that this common double standard of society must be aligned correctly.” Girls Can’t WHAT? recently caught up with Cristina for more information on her organization as well as her inspiring story as a varsity football player for her high school team.
Meet Quad Racer Angela “Cookie” Smith
In a sport dominated by men, Angela “Cookie” Smith isn’t just spinning her wheels. Since she first fired up the engine on a quad just a few years ago, she has done nothing but move forward at full throttle, picking up sponsorships and competing against both men and women in a sport she loves. Angela was drawn to Girls Can’t WHAT? through the Four-Wheeler design and was gracious enough to grant us an interview.
GCW: What is your main passion and describe when you first became interested in it?
Angela: My most passionate hobby is riding my quad, a big 07′ yfz 450 se. I got it from my boyfriend in May of 2007, brand new, for my graduation. I had never ridden a quad or a dirtbike or anything of the sort in my life! I was a little nervous when he handed me the keys for the first time, but I immediately loved it.
Meet Hilary Hess
Hilary Hess is a 26 year old woman who loves the outdoors….so much so that she now runs a non-profit organization that provides outdoor education opportunities for women in Vermont. Each year they host an event called Doe Camp that educates 150 women every year in all types of outdoor skills. Hilary was generous enough to grant Girls Can’t WHAT? an interview and tell us more about the organization called Vermont Outdoor Woman. Read more
Meet Trucker Pamela Febbo
The release of the Girls Can’t WHAT? Trucker design attracted female trucker Pamela Febbo to the site and I couldn’t resist requesting an interview with her. I mean how often do you see women truckers, let alone meet one? Pamela was kind enough to indulge my questions. Read more
Meet Football Coach Stormy Stroud
For those who think football is for boys only, I invite you to check out the Modesto Magic Women’s Football Team in Modesto, California, a group made up entirely of women who love to play football. The team was founded by and still coached by Stormy Stroud who herself has had an impressive career with pigskin in hand. Recently, Stormy contacted me to say how much she enjoyed the Girls Can’t WHAT? site and that her players could identify with the many stories shared on here. A few emails turned into an interview…so here is Stormy, highlighting her pitfalls in the world of football and how she came to start the Modesto Magic women’s team.
Girls Can’t WHAT? on SheUnlimited
More than you ever needed to know about me… I was podcasted by SheUnlimited.
Meet Detective Heather Reyda
Meet Heather Reyda, a mother of four (two boys and two girls) who lives life to the fullest. Heather loves photography, reading, music, and sports. She also enjoys watching her daughters play the piano and sing, and to her sons playing soccer.
Oh - and did I mention this? Heather is also a Detective for the Major Crimes Division in Knoxville, TN. She was gracious enough to let Girls Can’t WHAT? interview her about the challenges she faced as a female in her law enforcement career.
Goddess Spotlight
A few months ago I had the tables turned on me. I am usually the one doing the interviewing, but the Paisley Goddess invited me to answer some questions about how I started this site and what kinds of things inspire me. There’s also a shocking confession on who really came up with the name for Girls Can’t WHAT? Check out my interview and say hello to the Paisley Goddess for me. ![]()
Barbara Walters Interview on TV Land
Recieved an email from Orli Sharaby, 360i on behalf of TV Land, mentioning an interview with Barbara Walters which will be airing tomorrow evening:
As a champion of feminist issues and as a blog with many younger readers, I thought I would share with you this short video about Barbara Walters, a woman who has been breaking barriers in media for nearly half a century. Now, she’s been named as one of TV Land and Entertainment Weekly’s 50 greatest TV icons of all time. The video comes from TV Land, and it’s a brief snippet about Barbara Walters’ impact on our cultural landscape.
“The 50 Greatest TV Icons” is a 2-hour TV Land special that airs on Friday, Nov. 16 at 8pm ET/PT, but a couple of celebrity interviews have been made available now, exclusively for bloggers. One of them features newscaster Cynthia McFadden discussing Barbara Walters, as I mentioned above.
I watched the clip and the interview proves to be very interesting. I’m making a note on my calendar to watch it. ![]()
Meet Glenda Watson Hyatt
I found a great inspirational interview for this lovely Monday morning over on Successful-Blog.com. Blogger Liz Strauss has a four-part interview with a remarkable author, Glenda Watson Hyatt. Glenda has cerebral palsey, but that has not stopped her from accomplishing some fantastic goals in her life, including writing a new book called “I’ll Do It Myself”. Liz does a wonderful job of interviewing Glenda. Her outlook on life is truly inspirational. Don’t skip this one. Read it now!
Interview Highlights
Thought you might enjoy the cream of the crop interviews from this past year at Girls Can’t WHAT?
Nichole Nordeman Comes Clean
Continuing the topic of self-image, I invite you to read this confession by Nichole Nordeman called “Coming Clean” in which Nichole talks about her feelings of guilt and duplicity after a magazine cover photo shoot. I highly recommend you take 10 or so minutes to read and fully digest this article. Not only does Nichole talk about her personal experience, but she interviews 13 other artists about how they view themselves and their industry.
If you are not familiar with Nichole Nordeman, check out her video called “Legacy”. It’s a powerful video about real people doing extraordinary things through their daily lives. Worth seeing at least once. Lyrics are posted below. Read more
Meet Female Bullrider Mac Miller
By random chance, I met 14-year-old Mackenzie Miller from Denton, Montana through MySpace. Preferring to be called Mac, she explained to me that she loved the Girls Can’t WHAT? web site and that it especially interested her because she was into bullriding and there just aren’t a lot of girls who do that sort of thing. Wanting to know more about her experience in this field, I asked Mac for an interview and she accepted.
Biker Interviews
The Biker Interviews are so popular that I decided to post quick links to all the pages in one post. So here they are:
Tanja Brechenmacher
Sanet Geldenhuys
Merandi Liebenberg
“Skinny”
Cherilyn Stoltz
Denise van Deventer
Shop for Girls Can’t WHAT? Biker Gear!
Interview with Pro BMX Biker Alise Post
I recently had the pleasure of interviewing #1 ranked Girl Pro BMX biker, Alise Post from Minnesota. Alise, just 15 and already a pro racer, shared with me how she became interested in racing bikes and some of the challenges she has faced along the way. Alise is a well-rounded althlete who not only excels in BMX racing, but gymnastics and track as well.
Pilot Gloria LaRoche
I was recently granted the privilege of interviewing Gloria LaRoche, the 4th female airline captain in the United States to fly large aircrafts. Gloria shares with us how she knew she wanted to be a pilot at a young age and the challenges she faced as a woman trying to do a “man’s job”. Her story is a rare gem and an inspiration to women everywhere to follow your dreams and never give up. A link to short video clip of Gloria is also included at the end of the interview.
Biker Merandi Liebenberg
The following is an interview with biker Merandi Liebenberg from Gauteng, South Africa. This is part of a series of interviews with female bikers around the world. Each woman was asked general questions about herself and her interests as well as about challenges they face as a female biker.
Biker Denise van Deventer
The following is an interview with biker Denise van Deventer from Gauteng, South Africa. This is part of a series of interviews with female bikers around the world. Each woman was asked general questions about herself and her interests as well as about challenges they face as a female biker.
Biker Cherilyn Stoltz
The following is an interview with biker Cherilyn Stoltz from Gauteng, South Africa. This is part of a series of interviews with female bikers around the world. Each woman was asked general questions about herself and her interests as well as about challenges they face as a female biker.
Biker Tanja Brechenmacher
The following is an interview with biker Tanja Brechenmacher from Gauteng, South Africa. This is part of a series of interviews with female bikers around the world. Each woman was asked general questions about herself and her interests as well as about challenges they face as a female biker. Read more
Biker “Skinny”
The following is an interview with biker Skinny from Gauteng, South Africa. This is part of a series of interviews with female bikers around the world. Each woman was asked general questions about herself and her interests as well as about challenges they face as a female biker.
Biker Sanet Geldenhuys
The following is an interview with biker Sanet Geldenhuys from Gauteng, South Africa. This is part of a series of interviews with female bikers around the world. Each woman was asked general questions about herself and her interests as well as about challenges they face as a female biker.

