The WiSH Foundation welcomed women from junior high all the way to adulthood to the annual ASCEND (Achieve, Succeed, Confidence, Empower, Nurture and Drive) panel.
The event Thursday at Valencia High School’s Performing Arts Center offered young girls and women a chance to hear about experiences from women further along in their own lives.
The panel was held with the goal to give young girls and as well as boys a chance to listen to women who have more experience in life, to create some sense of relief and ease in students and adults about how life isn’t a linear experience.
“If I had to draw my career path for you, let me tell you it would not be a straight line, it would be more like a giant scribble,” said Alix D. Schwartz, the territory manager specializing in neuromodulation at Boston Scientific, which was a sponsor of the event. “Adults love asking us as kids, what do you want to be when you grow up? And it’s a really good question, but I want to give you permission today to have a different answer: ‘I don’t know yet.’”
Panelists spoke about how common it is to be unsure about choosing your future career. Especially with the audience being so young, they said, there is normalcy in not knowing and exploring your options.
“What I say to clients and what I say to girls is just take one, and put one foot in front of the other, and don’t make it more complicated than it has to be,” said Heather DeAngelis, a licensed psychotherapist and panelist. “I think being curious and being open to just taking one foot in front of the other and resisting the urge to put a label on it, it doesn’t need to look like a label because you might just find yourself in a position or a job or a career that you never thought you’d be in in a million years.”
The WiSH Foundation is a nonprofit that supports programs and provides resources for the William S. Hart Union High School District. It focuses on supporting students within the community and hosting events such as ASCEND as well as events on student wellness, STEM (science, technology, engineering and math), literacy and arts programs, along with college readiness.
“I wanted to bring successful women, since I also knew the stress that was on the students in the junior highs and high schools where they’re going to go to school, what they’re going to study, just to be perfect,” said Christy Alben, the vice chair of the WiSH Foundation. “Social media makes everything look so perfect and so easy. So I wanted successful women to talk about their path that wasn’t quite so linear, even though people think it was.”
The WiSH Foundation has found ASCEND to be a huge success with guests, according to Executive Director Amy Daniels. Many attendees engaged with surveys and requested certain times to connect with panelists. Many panelists as well have come to speak on multiple occasions.
“Last year when I was here, it was just such a rewarding opportunity to connect and especially after the event, one-on-one situations, really with people and to hear what people today are going through, what students are going through when they are in high school,” said panelist Diana Haugen, director of marketing communications of Boston Scientific. “They’re making tough decisions and what their career path is going to be. So if I can share a little bit about my journey and what I did and if it helps somebody, that’s fantastic.”
To learn more about the WiSH Foundation visit www.wisheducationfoundation.org.
