SDSU Yearbook: Women in Entrepreneurship and Leadership Event Inspires Students
The event, hosted by the SDSU Fowler College of Business, gave students and young professionals the opportunity to learn from successful women business leaders.
“Embrace the moment. You don’t know how quickly life can change, so enjoy the journey.”
It’s not every day a college student is able to attend a talk on business delivered by a nine-time Olympic medalist.
But that opportunity is what took place Feb. 27 as more than 1,800 students, young professionals and community members attended San Diego State University’s fourth annual Women in Entrepreneurship and Leadership event for an opportunity to learn from business leaders, entrepreneurs and industry experts about starting and succeeding in their careers. The keynote speaker was track and field sprinter Allyson Felix.
Sponsored by the Osinski family and hosted by SDSU’s Fowler College of Business, the event offered a full day of activities, presentations and interactive workshops designed to give students the skills and confidence they’ll need in today’s competitive world.
The panels and workshops featured successful women business leaders discussing their experiences adjusting to the business world, their first jobs and how those jobs created a significant imprint on their later careers.
RELATED: SDSU Yearbook: Aztecs Rock Hunger Food Drive Brings in Record Haul
“Your first job is so important,” said Lisa Graham, senior director of Global Leadership for Adobe Systems. “You develop your network, you meet people who will sponsor you, you learn what you like and what you don’t like. And when you’re good at something, they ask you things you might not like, but those things often turn into great opportunities.”
The panelists also discussed workplace gender bias. “There are inherent biases in the workplace and they are real,” noted Susan McClain, senior vice president for global product management at Disney. “But the beauty is that people are now talking about it and are willing to change that.”
The event, which was open to all members of the SDSU community and students of all majors, also featured lunch and learn workshops and a networking event for students.
Felix, one of Nike’s most widely marketed athletes, discussed her contractual stalemate with the company following the birth of her daughter in November 2018. She also discussed her advocacy work to support and protect women athletes during pregnancy, which resulted in Nike announcing it would re-structure contracts to support and protect women athletes during pregnancy — a move Felix applauded.
“A lot of times, you do something where you hope that somewhere down the line, you’ll see some change and here was something that was tangible,” said Felix. “We saw the language in the contract, so it was a win. But this is (an issue) across the industry and there is still more work to be done. There are other companies that still need to step up and adopt this so that it can be the norm.”
Felix closed her session by giving the audience a piece of advice: “Embrace the moment. You don’t know how quickly life can change, so enjoy the journey.”
Women in Entrepreneurship and Leadership Event Celebrates Women The event gives students and young professionals the opportunity to learn from successful women business leaders.
