Hello everyone!
Welcome to the revival of my personal blog. It's been almost a year since I last posted. I'll be using this section of my website to keep you updated on my year as Miss San Jose with the Miss America Organization.
This week was a busy one, due to several events I hosted to promote my platform as Miss San Jose - SheEO’s - Women in Leadership. In chronological order, here’s what I’ve been up to:
Tuesday: Led a workshop on Personal Branding at Gunn High School’s Women in STEM Club
Wednesday: Hosted the first of a three part panel series I am working on with the Stanford Management Science and Engineering Department titled “Women in the Field”
Thursday: Led a workshop on Building Your Personal Network at Palo Alto High School’s Future STEM Leaders Club
In the meantime, I was also fundraising and creating partnerships for Miss California. To reach my fundraising goals for the Children’s Miracle Network as well as for the Miss California ad book, I’ve picked up freelance photography again, and this week, was out shooting for 8 hours for about 80 students. I’m also excited to be working with Hair International and SoulCycle in Palo Alto to help me reach my hair, beauty, and fitness goals for the big week in June! Another fun perk - in the spirit of my platform, I got to hear Marne Levine, COO of Instagram, speak at Stanford Women in Business’s annual tech week. “Don’t mourn the breakups for too long” was her biggest piece advice for students my age.
MY PLATFORM: SHEEO'S - WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP
Before I jump into a play by play of my events, I’d like to tell you a bit about my platform. As a senior now, I’ve completed internships in a few industries - tech, finance, and venture capital. Despite these being traditionally very male-dominated fields, I’ve been lucky enough to have had a lot of support in all three industries - whether through a formal Women’s Network, or informal mentorship from female leaders at each firm. I’d be lying if I said that every experience was perfect and supportive, but the worst I’ve ever experienced sexism in the workplace has been a male manager calling me “sweetheart” in a condescending manner or constantly getting interrupted/mansplained in professional settings.
There’s certainly more horrifying stories of women who find themselves victims of biases - both conscious and unconscious, but it was in these settings where I wished I’d been prepared earlier on for the challenges I’m bound to face in the real world. It’s proven that more gender diverse leadership teams benefit everyone - from company culture to the bottom line. These benefits create overall stronger and safer workplaces. But women are also known to negotiate less and underestimate their qualifications. They also often lack mentors who can support them as they move up in an organization.
Throughout this year, I’m excited to continue working with youth to help them build these leadership skills early on in their lives, so that once it comes time for them to enter the workforce, they feel ready to take on the world.
Off my college campus, this will consist of outreach to local high schools as well as partnerships with existing organizations for girls - ones with research and results proven methods that emphasize mentorship. On campus, I’m working with my master’s department - Management Science and Engineering - on a speaker series to encourage more women to join the field. While my platform supports women in all fields, I feel most passionate about STEM given the opportunities it provides women as the fastest growing industry in our economy.
TUESDAY - PERSONAL BRANDING WORKSHOP AT GUNN HIGH SCHOOL - WOMEN IN STEM
In the past, I’ve found workshops like these so helpful because they taught me about all the things I could do to shape first impressions. I had the girls write down all their best qualities and strengths, helped them craft individual branding mission statements, and then create action plans on key activities they could do to make the statements a reality. Among the pleasant surprises was remembering how colorful a high school classroom is, and a slight feeling of nostalgia thinking about my past involvement high school student groups. I love that the Women in STEM club exists at Gunn - they host speakers throughout the year and also teach coding through fun activities like creating online greeting cards. I admire their initiative and their support for each other and can’t wait to see them again!
WEDNESDAY - WOMEN IN MANAGEMENT SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING AT STANFORD UNIVERSITY
I remember going to a panel like this in my freshman year, and it was so crazy to think I’m now helping run them. As you might imagine, a lot of people don’t know what Management Science and Engineering is. It’s an interdisciplinary major that essentially combines business and engineering. The specific concentration I’m in is called Technology Engineering Management, and I chose it because I want to be a tech entrepreneur someday.
The panelists really made this event. I got to meet Annie Kwon of Workday, Jeannie Kahwajy - CEO of Effective Interactions, Maria Brandt - Founder of Plan4event.com, and Megan Lin of Dropbox. Initially, I had setup the panel so that they’d be sitting in chairs up front like a professor might, with students sitting in chairs at desks. They asked if we could have everyone bring their chairs down to make the event more of a roundtable, informal chat. It’s crazy how quickly the atmosphere changed - from one with some slightly nervous energy to one that was warm, approachable, and friendly. I love that our panelists broke down that wall, and opened themselves up so generously.
Annie brought up a good point when she said she wished there were more men in the room. She had previously worked with Sheryl Sandberg at Leanin.org, and what she was saying was something that I think should’ve been so obvious to me. Women need allies, and for that, men need to join the conversation. They need to be in the room when we talk about the issues we face, because otherwise they will never know.
THURSDAY - NETWORKING 101 WORKSHOP AT PALO ALTO HIGH SCHOOL - FUTURE STEM LEADERS
I’m so glad I had the chance to action Annie’s comment at a co-ed club! Earlier, I touched a bit on the value of mentorship. Every job I’ve had so far, I got in large part due to the help of a mentor, whether it was preparing me for interviews or because of someone who graciously replied to a cold email. I sat in a workshop like this my freshman year when I was a part of a student run consulting group called Stanford Marketing, and what I thought over and over again after it was that I was so thankful to have learned the content so early in my college career.
This group blew my socks off. First off, I think any time you’re giving a talk, you’re slightly worried that people won’t find your content interesting, or that there will be an awkward silence when you ask if there are any questions or comments. I loved how engaged and inquisitive they were. They asked a lot of questions about how they could use the tools from the workshop in their daily lives - one girl had a research position with a Marine Biologist and another was shadowing a Partner at a Venture Capital firm. They wanted advice on how to make the most of their gigs. Crazy because I think of my senior year in comparison, and all I can say is this next generation is killing it!
Thank you so much for reading. Hoping to get back into blogging and give you all updates every 2 weeks or so. As always, let me know of any thoughts you have <3