By Ashley Gauba, grade 10

CareerConnect was given the opportunity to bring nine female students to the 2019 Watermark Conference for Women under the Young Women’s Program. The conference gave students the opportunity to listen to lauded keynote speakers, network with professionals and learn about different companies’ initiatives.

As part of the interactive opportunities of the conference, students got a chance to attend two workshops. The first workshop was centered on community change and was led by Krista Suh, one of the creators of the Pussyhat Project. The second workshop was led by Kati Mortin, a therapist and YouTuber, who discussed adolescent mental health.

Students also were able to hear from inspiring keynote speakers, including Gloria Steinem, Brené Brown, Amanda Southworth, Whitney Wolfe Herd and Serena Williams, who discussed their experiences as women in the workplace and the changes they are making in different industries.

“Seeing all these empowering women inspired me to stand up for what I believe in and speak with confidence as a woman,” commented freshman Andrea Thia. “Learning from each individual’s speaking style and wisdom was such a unique experience.”

Junior Tiffany Zhao expressed that Watermark “showed me that I am not alone in my aspirations for female empowerment in the workplace. This is an issue that has troubled me for very long, and this experience has made me realize that I have an entire community of strong and capable women fighting to solve this issue alongside me. Ultimately, this experience has given me hope, optimism and faith that women’s current role in the workplace will change for the better.”

Overall, students had a fantastic and educational time at Watermark and came back with lessons on how to take initiative in their own career pursuits.