On February 28, 2022, six global scholar groups, including my own, presented our grant proposal to three panelists who would later decide how to allocate the money. Going into the presentation, I was relatively calm - I expected myself to be more nervous - probably because I felt like I was speaking from the heart. I had rehearsed hours before the presentation and felt ready to speak on behalf of my cause and the non-profit, Global Village Foundation. I arrived at my partner Theo’s house around 2:00 in preparation for the Grant Program at 3:50. We played some games to calm our minds and then rehearsed several times to make sure our presentation was fluid and hopefully flawless.
During the presentation, my group was slated to go last. I felt a tinge of nervousness hearing the panelists ask the groups questions after their presentation. Nonetheless, every group answered each question smoothly and their presentations were stunning. It was amazing to see all the different grant presentations and the causes that they were supporting. From educating and providing menstrual products to high schoolers in Africa to supporting refugees in America, every group had tremendous presentations that showcased how much effort and heart they put into the grant presentations. Overall, I was more nervous waiting for the decision than actually presenting. After around a 30-minute deliberation, the three panelists rejoined the zoom meeting and decided that all grant projects would be fully funded. Theo and I were extremely happy and couldn’t wait to relay the news to Ms. Hayslip and the rest of the members of the GVF. After sending Ms. Hayslip and other volunteers an email, we received some congratulations emails as well as one of the volunteers, Mr. Du Hua, with who we were on a zoom call with in the past, sent an email asking Ms. Hayslip for permission to marry her daughter. We ended up getting caught up in an email exchange about Mr. Du Hua asking Ms. Hayslip for permission to marry her daughter Ms. Sunshine. Overall, it was a very joyous email exchange as good news was shared all around. I learned a lot about collaborating with organizations, writing a grant, and giving a presentation to a group of panelists. I can’t wait for the next steps and see the impact that the money will have on the Village of Hope and the Global Village Foundation.
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On March 1, 2022, the UNA-Pasadena and Polytechnic Chapter came together to host a GIP event celebrating International Women’s Day and supporting women in global leadership. The panel discussion involved two women Eunice Reddick and KhinSandi Lwin who have made significant strides in their respective global leadership careers.
Reddick is an American diplomat and former ambassador to Niger. She formerly served as the United States ambassador to Gabon and São Tomé and Príncipe. She graduated from New York University and later received a master’s degree in International Affairs from Columbia University. Reddick began her Foreign Service career in 1980 and worked in embassies in Zimbabwe, Beijing, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, and many more. The other panelist, Khinsandi Lwin, has worked with the UN for 35 years in over 10 countries. Currently, she is the Resident Coordinator at the United Nations Development Programme. Earlier, Lwin visited Poly virtually and gave a talk where she explored her work with refugees, Myanmar’s situation, and her work to end female infanticide. Overall, both speakers told very inspiring and empowering stories of their time working in international affairs and the challenges they faced. They both spoke of situations where a woman will bring up an idea in a discussion only for it to be said by a man moments later and have the support of the entire team. They also brought up how their careers were also impacted because of their marriages. It was very disheartening to hear the stories such as this that were told during the discussion. There is still a great divide between gender equality in the workplace that needs to continuously be addressed and solved. Both speakers have done tremendous work for empowering women and leading international programs to bridge the gender gap. It is important that the students and faculty at Poly lay a foundation that begins in the classroom so that we can empower women’s voices and bridge the gender divide in the future. |