Women from across campus gathered in Alumni Hall on Monday night for dinner and conversation at the eighth "Proud to Be a Woman" dinner, a termly event sponsored by Link-Up and the Center for Women and Gender. The event featured speakers Mayuka Kowaguchi '11 and engineering and Geisel School of Medicine professor Kendall Hoyt.
The purpose of the event is to strengthen the community of women on campus and to facilitate relationships and conversation between female freshmen and upperclassmen, faculty, staff and alumni, Kate Burns '13, executive member of Link-Up and coordinator of the event, said.
"It's all about celebrating women," Burns said. "It's a really positive experience."
Burns said that Link-Up invited Kowaguchi and Hoyt to speak about their "experiences as women at Dartmouth and in the real world," but the main focus of the event each term lies in the dinner conversation between the attendees and "breaking down the barriers" between younger and older students, faculty and alumni. The Spring term dinners typically emphasize the senior members of Link-Up and "celebrate all the incredible things they've done," Burns said. At the close of the dinner, each senior member of Link-Up was presented with a rose.
Hoyt, who has worked in the fields of biodefense policy and international security, spoke about her experiences navigating the professional world, focusing on balancing her professional and personal life. Hoyt reflected on the challenges of simultaneously pursuing a career and being a mother, and she emphasized the importance of "hanging onto your career." In order to be both a successful woman and a mother, "you have to have a battle plan at an early age," she said. Hoyt also applauded the all-female audience for their efforts to seek out fellow women as mentors and mentees.
"I was really impressed that you guys are aware of the importance of cultivating mentors, which is something that is critical," she said. "It doesn't happen enough."
Hoyt added that these relationships are important because as a mentee, "you've got everything to gain and nothing to lose."
In her speech, Kowaguchi reflected on relationships she has had at Dartmouth and the importance of strengthening the female community. Kowaguchi said in an interview with The Dartmouth that she has attended "almost all" of the previous "Proud to be a Woman" dinners.
"I went to the inaugural dinner, and I was amazed by the honest conversations that I heard, and also the genuine interest that the women at my table had for each other, which I hadn't honestly seen in other areas of campus," she said. "I hope to come back for my 10th reunion and see this still happening."
Over her years attending the dinners, Kowaguchi observed that she has "gradually seen a lot of women becoming more concerned about the presence of sisterhood on campus, and maybe more so the lack of it."
Thea Stutsman '13, the future president of Link-Up, said that the conversations she has had at the dinners have helped her become aware of issues regarding the female community on campus.
"I had never really experienced gender discrimination explicitly, but I think what I have gained from having these conversations is an understanding that it exists, and gaining a vocabulary to express certain things that I had felt but didn't consciously realize," she said, adding that she is "optimistic about the community of women on campus."
Caela Murphy '15 said she had never attended a "Proud to be a Woman" dinner before and said that it "seems like a great way to meet upperclasswomen."
"One thing that struck me was how many different types of women the event reached out to," Murphy said, noting that she met women from a variety of classes, faculty members and a student from the Tuck School of Business. "Along with that, the two speakers also had very different stories to tell. Overall, going to the event made me want to attend more like it."
Jenny Lamb '13, a discussion leader at the dinner, said that she loves the event because it gives her the opportunity to meet students, faculty and staff.
"It's great to have a chance to openly discuss different issues that women face here," she said.
Burns said she enjoys the dinners because they serve as a "mental check-in," providing her the opportunity to "reflect on what the speakers say" and listen to the experiences of other Dartmouth women. She always leaves feeling motivated to do more on campus, she said.
Link-Up president Hannah Levinson '12 said she had mixed emotions at the close of this event, the eighth and final one that she has planned.
"It's sad to leave, but I'm so excited that this is going to be an ongoing event and [Link-Up] is going to be a sustainable organization," Levinson said.
Levinson reflected that as a freshman, she did not know many upperclassman, which is why she originally became involved in Link-Up.
"[Having relationships with older women] is so integral to the freshman experience, and I wanted to sustain it for other people," Levinson said.