by Nathalie Ceballos, Manhattan varsity girl’s team
On February 24th, Maverick Capital Foundation hosted the 6th annual Professional Women’s Dinner. Eleventh grade girls from both the Manhattan and Queens teams at Row New York joined women from an assortment of professions. Among them were philanthropists, entrepreneurs, lawyers, firefighters, and more. They gave us guidance on everything from improving our resumés, to refining our future career goals. It was a truly amazing experience to share a room with so many remarkable people who all seemed to be bursting at the seams with wisdom and experience.
In speaking to these women and hearing their stories on how they got to where they are, I learned a lesson in tenacity. Something the professional women in the room seemed to all have in common was that they had reached a point in their lives where they realized the thing they were most passionate about and stuck with it. Even when all the odds were against them, even when the hill in front of them seemed too steep to climb, they took risks and didn’t loosen their grip on their goals.
When Désirée, an entrepreneur working for the Tory Burch Foundation, was working at a different job that she was less passionate about, her mentor encouraged her to quit and start pursuing a job she really wanted to do. She was reluctant to leave the security of her old job, but she took the risk to achieve her goals. When Jackie, a firefighter, was in training for her current job, she was the only woman out of hundreds of men. She faced sexism on her journey to becoming a firefighter, but she overcame all of it. She is now one of the 49 women who serve the city alongside 10,000 men.
Their stories demonstrate the grit it takes to achieve success. Around the table were women from all walks of life. They united to help me and my Row New York teammates open the doors to the paths we may want to pursue. It was refreshing for us to start a dialogue about our aspirations.
It was a great experience for us. We were taught to always be willing to expand our interests and and push ourselves out of our comfort zones. Something important I learned was that so many of the professional women had mentors. These mentors helped them reach the positions they now hold. Learning that makes me want to have a mentor to reach my careers goals too. It was a very inspiring night! – Jemima Makomva, Queens varsity girl’s team
We would like to extend a huge thank you to all the women who shared their insights, career journeys, advice, and resumé editing skills with the young women of Row New York! As always, the Professional Women’s Dinner was a great opportunity for amazing women to connect and embrace leadership. A special thank you to Mali Locke of Maverick Capital Foundation for sharing event space and partnering to make our dinner a success!
