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Last week, Leeds held its first Future Women in Business event, which was hosted by the undergraduate Women in Business club and the Office of Career Strategy. Eighth graders from Coal Ridge and Longs Peak Middle Schools spent the day experiencing what life might be like as a Leeds student, sharing their perspectives and potentially broadening their understanding of business as a potential career.

The Women in Business club serves an important role in the success of the event, leading many of the day's activities and serving as close partners with staff from the Office of Career Strategy. The Future Women in Business event was one of the goals set by the club for this year and included key collaborations with other undergraduate women students at Leeds.

Amanda Hansen, associate director of Employer Engagement & Partnerships for the Office of Career Strategy, described the day as “an exciting and unique opportunity to share more about Leeds with our local middle school women.”

In the morning, the middle school students participated in activities inspired by actual undergraduate programming that included presentations from Leeds’ staff, small workgroup exercises and a country-based activity related to our First-Year Global Experience (FGX). The eighth graders were also given a tour of the ���񱦵� campus and had the experience of eating lunch at the C4C dining hall.

The afternoon featured additional interactive activities and discussions, including one session on how to identify their values—a core principle that guides all activities at Leeds. Additionally, the students had the opportunity to learn and interact with the executive team and members from the Women in Business (WIB) club. To help create broader connections with the students, club members were often rotating between small groups creating personal interactions that drove engaging conversations and an openness for sharing ideas.

Leeds continues to demonstrate its commitment to supporting diversity in business education and ending the gap in women enrollment across our programs. The Women in Business Club and the Future Women in Business event are two examples of Leeds’ efforts to encourage and support women studying business and help them understand all the opportunities a business education provides.

When asked about their experience, one student said, “Being a woman can be empowering, and we can do anything.” Another shared, “Boys can’t always have all the power; we need to be confident in ourselves.”

We look forward to seeing some of these middle school women becoming student ambassadors for their younger counterparts in the future.