UIC students with Ms. Galt (fifth from the right), Ms. Spio (sixth from the right), and Mr. Searls (fourth from the right)
UIC’s Project Manager of the Four Points Education Coordination Office, Mr. Gifford Searls, and eleven UIC students took part in a conference on “Women in Leadership” held by the U.S. Consulate General in Guangzhou on September 17th.
Consulate members, female leaders from China and the U.S., and students from a range of universities gathered at the China Hotel in Guangzhou for discussions and presentations. They were divided into different groups to share their experiences and give reports on how to effectively contribute to the development of female leadership in Southern China.
Ms. Jennifer Zimdahl Galt, the U.S. Consul General in Guangzhou, welcomed the guests and explained the motivation behind the conference. She believes that it is important and necessary to advance women into positions of leadership.
Ms. Mary Spio, a representative for American Business Women, also delivered a speech on “Inspiring Future Women Leaders”. She shared a story about how she became a successful businesswoman, and encouraged students to create their own future.
A final discussion was led by some fourth year students from UIC, Ms. Kitty Lin, majoring in Government and International Relations, Ms. Elyssa Gao, Ms. Scarlett Shan, and Mr. Jeffery Wong, hosted a talk on “Women Leaders' Weighing between Career and Family”. Over 30 students from different universities were divided into small groups to discuss the topic, then the discussions were concluded with group presentations.
UIC students said that they not only gained some valuable insight from the experiences of current female leaders, but they also made friends with students from other universities, making the conference enjoyable, meaningful and inspirational.
Reporter: Yihan Xu
Photos: from FPECO
Editor: Sze Ying Cheong
(from MPRO, with special thanks to the ELC)
