Work, Boundaries, and the Sandwich Generation with Dr. Mary Westby, Part 2

In Part 2 of her conversation with Dr. Mary Westby, Bri dives deeper into what it really looks like to stay in a demanding profession while raising a young child and caring for aging parents.Mary, an athletic trainer and director of a master’s program in athletic training, speaks candidly about the pressures working moms face in non–family-friendly fields—and why so many talented women are pushed out when they want to start families. She shares how advocacy, agency, and cultural change are essential not just for moms, but for everyone in the profession.The conversation also tenderly explores life in the “sandwich generation.” Mary reflects on parenting alongside the slow grief of watching parents age, and why she chooses to include her son in those multigenerational relationships rather than shielding him from hard realities. The result is a story filled with honesty, resilience, and unexpected joy.From setting boundaries in academia, to finding your people, to reclaiming a small piece of yourself in a season that demands everything—this episode is for any working mom trying to stay whole in the middle of it all.(Part 2 of a two-part conversation)