Various women leaders will gather in the Collegium from 7:30 to 9 p.m. on Nov. 6 to sit on a leadership panel open to all female junior and seniors. The women will encourage female student leaders to aspire to higher positions in their communities.
Many female students feel they cannot aspire to high level leadership roles, like positions in Associated Students, according to student programming director and Associated Students advisor Laura Igram. The event is open to women who desire involvement in leadership and encourages women to aspire to higher levels of leadership, Igram said.
“In every capacity and setting in your life, what it means to live a multidimensional life –– we saw a lack of that in Biola, the idea of encouraging women to live out their calling in various places,” Igram said.
WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP
Igram said the idea for the panel came from a conversation with Kristen Hahn, director of Ruby Women, an organization that seeks to equip and engage women leaders to impact the world around them for Christ. Ruby Women, student development, and Commuter Life co-sponsor the event. According to Igram, Ruby Women is an organization of highly-involved women in workplace environments who support Biola.
“We thought it would be a great idea to get together a panel of these women and actually get feedback from female faculty to talk about what it meant to be a woman in leadership,” Igram said.
Igram hopes students will strive, excel and feel encouraged to reach for what they want to see happen in their lives after attending the panel.
The panel includes Mary Keenan, a partner at Ron Blue and Company, Dianna Smiley, founder and executive director of Generation Her, Heather Hoerdemann, vice president of High-Tech Company and Lethe Lee, an owner of Clarion Speech and Language Services in Compton. Professor of communication studies Arianna Molloy and vice provost Cassandra Van Zandt will also feature on the panel.
The panelists come from different backgrounds and settings, they all have an interest in influencing and talking to female students on campus, Igram said. Speakers will address what it means to be a leader, the work process of reaching leadership roles and their family life in relation to work. They will also share their calling and tips they wish they had known as college students in order to better impact their careers, Igram said.
STUDENT LEADERS GIVE FEEDBACK
Rebecca Gallagher, vice president of administrative services for AS and senior communication studies major, will attend the panel and finds that hearing experiences from other leaders uplifting and encouraging.
“The speakers are incredible women who will share stories of success. I think that’s important to other women leaders. They can learn a lot from others’ experiences and build relationships afterwards,” Gallacher said.
Allison Curtin, Student Missionary Union controller and junior business accounting major said student leaders need an extra push in pursuing leadership opportunities outside of Biola’s campus.
“I think it would helpful to see outside the [Biola] bubble and say, ‘I’ve fostered all these leadership abilities, where can I apply them in the business side of things,’” Curtin said.
Ashley Panko, AS senior vice president and senior business management major, will also attend the event and feels students will gain further insight into leadership and discover ways to develop as a leader. Panko said students not currently involved in leadership will feel more comfortable pursuing a leadership position as a result of attending the panel.
“Students can gain an understanding of what leadership is and tangible ways to lead better,” Panko said. “It may start something in their own heart where they feel they can potentially apply for a leadership position somewhere.”
