You may often hear me say that nothing replaces hard work. And nothing signifies the completion of dedication, hard work and personal growth quite as much as a graduation event. It is a milestone that you earn through weeks, months or years of staying focused, doing the hard work and ultimately receiving the accolades you deserve. This rings true as we graduate another cohort of Women Who Mean Business at the McCombs School of Business at UT Austin.
Couple that milestone with a WWMB Reunion, and you have the best of both worlds. Uniting past cohorts with new graduates, participants quickly see the importance of maintaining the community they are building, rooted in support and shared ambition. Both entrepreneurs and corporate women came together for a magical two days to celebrate and encourage each other.
Choosing speakers for these action-packed programs is a bit daunting because we want to find the right combination of motivational storytelling and sound business advice. We hit the jackpot at our reunion when we welcomed Fran Harris, a UT Distinguished Alumnus and women’s basketball star (part of the last team to win a National Championship for UT). Her energy, spot-on advice, humor and presence in the room were met with thunderous applause. She even insisted on us taking the fun photo featured in the header of this newsletter.
Our other outstanding speaker was Kitty Block, CEO of the Humane World for Animals (formerly known as The Humane Society). Kitty’s story of working her way up from the bottom of the organization to the very top gave each woman the courage to dream big. She also shared the significant work her organization does to improve the lives of animals worldwide. Kitty has a remarkable ability to light up a room with her wisdom and compassion.
These events were filled with love, joy, hope and energy—along with a few tears of gratitude. In both continuing education programs, women build lasting bonds that help them encourage one another through victories and the toughest times in life. That is what a true network is all about, and we look forward to welcoming more into this sisterhood as recruitment begins for Cohort 7 of Women Who Mean Business.
Cheers to outstanding women leaders around the world!
Gay Gaddis
Founder. Author. Artist. Trailblazer.
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