Minutes after school ended, students made their way to the lecture hall in anticipation for the 2nd Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Women’s History Month Career Panel. Taking place on Mar. 19, this was EDI’s second year of organizing the event after receiving positive feedback from their student audience the first year.
The panel featured women in diverse careers and fields, with the following speakers on the panel:
Dr. Sharon Shiraga, General Surgeon from USC Arcadia Hospital
Ms. Trupti Patil, CEO and Software Architect of CreativeWorks Corp.
Rabbi Jill Wright, Director of Education from Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center
Dr. Hsiuchen Chen, Biology and Biological Engineering Researcher from California Institute of Technology
Dr. Angela Dillman, Arcadia High School (AHS) Principal and newly appointed District Director over Secondary Education
The panel members were asked questions by EDI officers, and they provided their insight into how they chose the career right for them, and the challenges they faced as people pursuing their dreams and as women in male-dominated fields.
“Why I became a rabbi has everything to do with what I was doing as my first career,” said Rabbi Wright. “I was a community college professor…it was a wonderful job for me…but I said to myself, I don’t really know if I want to retire at age 67 from the same job I got when I was 27…being a rabbi and being in pastoral care…exploring a more spiritual connection has been a really nice way for me to deepen[my understanding of my] humanity as well as everybody else’s.”
“I got a job in Poland teaching English,” said Dr. Dillman. “I didn’t know how to teach, didn’t know Polish, but by the end of the first 30 days of that job, I fell in love with teaching. I never wanted to be a teacher…but I have loved every second of working in a high school. I [also] have a really hard time keeping my opinions to myself…if I see something that is wrong I [always] want to jump in. I became an administrator because I wanted to be a part of finding solutions.”
The panel members offered a variety of viewpoints, introducing diverse perspectives to the audience to illustrate how different opinions can both be enriching. When the panel was asked how to overcome the challenge of voicing their opinions in male-dominated fields, Ms. Patil explained how she prefers to be certain of her answer before she speaks up. She felt that the outcome was often better when she was most confident and knew her information well, and this made her voice stronger.
Dr. Shiraga, on the other hand, took a different approach.
“Don’t feel like you have to prepare everything, or be the most prepared person in the room to say it,” said Dr. Shiraga. “You will be heard…I see junior surgeons or other physicians being timid about what they want to do or going up in leadership, [but] I don’t think you have to be all prepared to take the next step. If you’re already prepared, you’re already there.”
After the series of officer questions, the panel answered questions from the audience members themselves. The Q&A session carried on even after the scheduled end of the panel event, with audience members eagerly asking their questions to each of the members. After the panel, the students and panel members gathered for a group photo to conclude the event.
