The seventh annual KO Power of Women Spring Forum took place in Roberts Theater on April 27, with more than 130 students, partners, and community members in attendance. The event had four panelists who spoke to the audience about their careers, lives, and experiences as women.
Power of Women is the largest student organization on campus and has more than 100 members in both the Middle and Upper Schools. The four women who came and spoke were Penguin Bio co-founder and Chief Operating Officer Diane Tager ’03, pediatric nurse practitioner Nirupa Sekaran P’25, ’28, Bank of America Managing Director and Marketing Executive Annie Hildreth P’30, and Yale New Haven Hospital OBGYN resident Grace Jarmoc, MD ’14.
Senior Nidhi Bhat said that she felt inspired by the panelists’ careers and contributions. “They’re very successful and also inspirational in terms of what they’ve done in their communities, and it was so nice hearing from them,” she said.
Bhat also brought up how high school can be an indecisive and challenging time for kids and shared how seeing and hearing from these successful women can alleviate some of that uncertainty. “It showed me that you’re going to end up finding your passion, your interest, in some way,” she said. “Even if you don’t start off on the right path, you end up finding it later in life.” The panelists gave everyone in the audience a boost of confidence. “I think that, really, was reassuring for me,” Nidhi said. “It was great knowing that all these women were able to be successful even when there were roadblocks.”
Director of Leadership Giving and Power of Women Advisor Jayne Rotter spoke about the impacts and importance of the Power of Women Forum. “Power of Women aims to foster authentic conversations between professional women and KO students,” she said. “It highlights not only the career successes, but also the challenges they have faced and overcome.”
Wherever a person is in life, the POW Forum is an amazing event to attend to learn something new and listen to someone’s own life experiences. “I find that it’s amazing that if you come to the Power of Women, you will take a nugget away with you,” Mrs. Rotter said. The club really wants to emphasize that it is always growing and developing, working to uplift everyone in the community. “We learn from each other and we make each other stronger as women,” Mrs. Rotter said.
Looking ahead to next year’s Power of Women Forum, Mrs. Rotter is hoping to see even more people attend. “I’d love to get more men and male students to the event,” she said, “because even though Power of Women is based on women’s leadership, I think that it creates the opportunity for a conversation community-wide. I’d love to see more male students at the KO Power of Women, showing that we support each other in this community.”
