Happy Women’s History Month! I am so grateful for the opportunity to attend the 16th annual USC Women’s Conference last week. It was a whirlwind of a day and a wonderful way to celebrate all the amazing achievements of women throughout the years in our culture and society, and especially in USC’s history.
The program for the conference this year was jam packed with many inspirational and empowering sessions from barrier-breaking industry leaders.
The conference started with our visionary leader, USC President Carol Folt, sharing how the university has become a beacon of unity and cooperation of tackling issues that affect us all.
“Diversity is our strength; unity is our power.”
She shared with us the 5 moonshots that help create a more unified community here at USC.
- Frontiers of Computing – $1B+ initiative to accelerate advanced computing and impact.
- Health Sciences 3.0 – Transformation of health sciences: education, medical training, practice, and research.
- Sustainable Urban Futures – Expanding leadership in sustainability & the urban futures to solve pressing world challenges.
- Athletics Reimaged – Advancing ethical, sustainable, & value-based culture for student-athletes, coaches, & Trojan community.
- USC Competes – Attract & retain top faculty, staff & students; competitive compensation, accessibility, financial aid student programs & support
These monumental efforts and goals are some of the ways our school is changing for the future and I am excited to be a part of it.
One of the moonshots that is near and dear to me is the “Frontiers of Computing” initiative. Did you know that two USC alumni helped start ChatGPT? You can also thank USC every time you type .com.
“The USC of Advanced Computing is a unique experiment and a new way of thinking of how computing can become the backbone for the university and diverse in so many fields.” -Gaurav Sukhatme, Director of the School of Advanced Computing.
Learn more about the “Frontiers of Computing” initiative at USCin the video below:
For my breakout session, I attended Rhesa’s session on “Embracing Your Power to Create a More Inclusive World.” I had the pleasure of watching her expand our school’s ERG offerings and from that, see how much it has impacted the school’s culture and foster a more friendly, diverse, and inclusive environment.
Rhesa delivered a wonderful presentation and I am very proud to see how much she has grown in her career over the years.
The last discussion panel of the day that I wanted to highlight was “The Power of Collaboration to Fight Cancer” with panelists Peter Kuhn, Jorge Nieva, Assad Oberai, and Amy Ross.
Learn about the latest science and the future of early breast cancer detection using a simple blood draw in this informative panel discussion. Our distinguished panelists will explain how the simplicity of the blood draw, combined with today’s sophisticated understanding of breast cancer through advanced mathematics, can bring confidence to the 70 million American women at risk for this deadly disease.
This discussion just gave me goosebumps. This endeavour would make breast cancer screening more accessible to many people. Early detection is key as they might be easier to treat.
I had an amazing time at the USC Women’s Conference and made so many new friends and connections. I am already looking forward to next year’s event.
Photo Gallery
There are many pictures from my point of view here. To experience more of the excitement, be sure to check out the official photos from the USC Women’s Conference.
I really enjoyed the pre-conference networking and then finally meeting my new friends in person at the event.
My day at the USC Women’s Conference has been quite inspiring and magical.
I got the chance to reconnect with USC Viterbi Professor Oberai at the conference. We worked on creating a web application for Project Restart during the pandemic in 2020. I am excited and happy to learn about his collaboration with Professor Kuhh and Professor Nieva to fight cancer.
I met some new friends and enjoyed hearing all their stories and journey in their careers.
Ink Factory Sketch Notes
