Last Friday’s TrailBlazHERs panel, organized and moderated by Olivia Budweth ’25 and Alyssa Gesualdo ’25, was a resounding success with six highly accomplished panelists, including three alumni and a CDS parent, sharing invaluable career advice.
Before introducing the panelists, Olivia acknowledged the significance of the day, December 6th, the 35th anniversary of the École Polytechnique shooting where 14 young women were murdered at their engineering school in Montreal.
According to the two engineers on the panel, this senseless act of gender-based violence fueled their desire to pursue engineering and eventually business degrees. Armed with engineering rings and MBAs, they each shared stories of navigating careers as women in male-dominated fields.
Huge thanks to our amazing panelists, including: Jana Docherty ’11, Kelsey Houston-Malakian ’12, Mia Sung ’23, Debra Dobson, Dominique Barker and Sasha Kuyumju for sharing their career journeys and advice with our Senior School students.
This panel of women have all pushed through the glass ceiling in their own right, holding the following roles: Senior Manager in Operational Finance at Rogers; Infection Control Practitioner – University Health Network & Princess Margaret Hospital; Partner, Peloton Capital Management; Biomedical Toxicology student at U of T; CFO & Head of Sustainability, Lithium Royalty Corp; and Firefighter, who confessed she may have gotten into firefighting a decade earlier had she been introduced to a role model sooner.
Key takeaways: Find mentors, advocate for yourself, build confidence, and don’t be afraid to fail!
Thank you to all of our panelists today and congrats to Olivia and Alyssa on a beautifully executed panel discussion!