The future is FemaLe

By Taylor Won

After being held indoors for the majority of 2021 and having just returned to campus during the Fall semester, we can all agree that 2021 has thrown us a bunch of lemons. From having to put some of our plans on hold and not getting to walk across the stage during the graduation ceremony, the future is still bright for us. POW is not just a student lead organization, it's a place for community, bonding, sharing, and connecting with one another. POW has become a home for many of the seniors that are either officers or executive officers whom have been with the organization for the past year or more. They've all found comfort in joining POW and are elated to share some of their accomplishments during their college journey as well as some of their future goals post graduation. 

Meet Karen Tan, POW's President for the Fall 2021 semester. She is in her senior year and is studying Business Administration with a concentration in Management. When asked what accomplishment she is most proud of she responded with "pushing myself out of my comfort zones". While this year brought a lot of changes both academically and personally, she has seen a lot of growth in herself, "joining POW and acting as president is one of the activities I would have never seen myself in in the past year". When asked how her accomplishment made her feel she said positive and looking forward to the future. Post graduation, Karen hopes to be financially stable so that she may travel and do things without having to worry too much. While her goals during school were to have a good college experience and to create long-lasting friendships, she believes that "a goal cannot be too small or too big, you can have major goals that come years later or you can have small [goals] that come in the next couple of minutes". Regardless of a goal, make it something that you set yourself out to achieve and it shouldn't matter what the goal is. 
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Meet Katrina Salas, POW's treasurer for the Fall 2021 semester. She is in her senior year and is studying Business Administration with an emphasis in Finance. She is most excited about securing a post-grad job offer as all of her hard work has paid off and "I come from a low socioeconomic background, so securing a job offer that will allow me to make a major contribution financially to my household has made me really happy". Having accomplished a pos-grad job offer, she's learned that you get what you put in, she participated in multiple club leadership positions, and was a full-time student. "Each position I took was meaningful in that it allowed me to pad my resume and enhance necessary skills that allowed me to succeed in my next position". After college, Katrina wants to help her mom buy a house and while her goal during college was to secure a post-grad job offer, her main motivation was to become the main financial supporter for her mom, and she hopes to further achieve this goal by moving up the career hierarchy. Katrina believes that "there is no small or big goal, goals are relative to the individual and the expectations they have for themselves. 
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Meet Sarai Aguayo, POW's Chief of Operations for the Fall 2021 semester. She is in her senior year and is studying Business-Marketing with a minor in Visual Communications. Sarai is most proud of how much her confidence and self awareness has boosted over the years. "I used  to be super shy and was always really hard on myself". She also believes that a goal can never be too small or too big. Celebrate all of your accomplishments no matter what, anything is worth celebrating, and you should be proud of yourself. 
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Meet Jasmine Tran, POW's head of Marketing for the Fall 2021 semester. She is in her senior year and is studying Business Marketing. One of her accomplishments that she is most proud of is how much she's grown as a person in the past two years. "In my earlier college years, I was unmotivated to continue school or work because I felt intimidated and overwhelmed". After being told what she could and couldn't accomplish, it resulted in a lot of self-doubt, and "I'm proud that I was able to trust my own instincts and find a major that I love while exploring new options for my career". Throughout her journey in accomplishing her goal, she learned that slow progress is still progress because consistency and drive will get you far. Post college, she hopes to be completely financially independent from her parents and "be able to live independently and have a full-time career". During college her goal was to exhaust as many opportunities as she could to gain new experiences and skills to further her career however, while her goals may still be the same today, she believes that there is no limit to having goals, and that everyone has their own individual journey. Jasmine believes that you should "celebrate the little and big victories in your career because they shape you into who you are overall". 
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It is apparent that goals are defined by who we are. There is no such thing as a small or big goal, as long as you believe that something is worth achieving, then it is worth celebrating for and being proud of. We should constantly celebrate all of the victories in life and continue to set both long-term and short-term goals for ourselves. While the road to achieving the goal may not have been smooth sailing, the journey is what makes accomplishing that goal so much more worthwhile. One wise man said "life is a destination, not a journey"-Ralph Waldo Emerson. As many of us begin to embark on our new journeys, even if we are unsure of where we're going, celebrate both the little and big wins, and remember that perseverance, courage, and determination will get you to where you wish to be. 
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