Women of the world – unite! Kendra Scott, known mostly for her dainty baubles and self-made success story, held an event last week at the University of Texas at Austin to announce the Kendra Scott Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership Institute (WEL).
The WEL Institute, which will open to all UT Austin students in Spring 2020, will serve as a community of diversity, inclusion, and entrepreneurship, empowering women to advocate for themselves and find the white space to make their impact. The Institute will be a central hub for programming such as:
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A women’s leadership workshop series, allowing students to learn from and network with entrepreneurs and leaders across various industries, powered by Blackstone LaunchPad at UT Austin
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UT will host the Change the World Women’s Leadership Summit
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UT’s McCombs School of Business will offer a Kendra Scott Consumer Products Entrepreneurship Practicum
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UT’s College of Natural Sciences will offer an experiential accessories design and merchandising course
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UT’s College of Fine Arts will offer the Kendra Scott Studio Partnership, featuring a three-hour seminar course hosted at the Kendra Scott headquarters and centered around the Kendra Scott Design process.
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Internship program
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Leadership training and mentoring
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Speaker series featuring industry leaders
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Campus wide venture funding opportunities
AUSTIN, TEXAS – SEPTEMBER 24: (L-R) Maurie McInnis, Executive Vice President and Provost at the University of Texas at Austin, Kendra Scott, CEO, designer and philanthropist, Freida Pinto, entrepreneur and actor, and Rachel Lindsay, lawyer, sports commentator and TV personality attend the unveiling of the Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership Institute At The University Of Texas At Austin on September 24, 2019 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Rick Kern/Getty Images for Kendra Scott)
Kendra Scott and The University of Texas at Austin celebrated the unveiling of the Kendra Scott Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership (WEL) Institute with a launch event on September 24 at UT Austin’s Bass Concert Hall, which included special appearances from actress Freida Pinto, television personality Rachel Lindsay, and a surprise musical performance by country music singer Cam.
AUSTIN, TEXAS – SEPTEMBER 24: Singer-songwriter Cam performs during the unveiling of the Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership Institute At The University Of Texas At Austin on September 24, 2019 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Rick Kern/Getty Images for Kendra Scott)
AUSTIN, TEXAS – SEPTEMBER 24: (L-R) Kendra Scott, CEO, designer and philanthropist, singer-songwriter Cam, Gregory Fenves, President of The University of Texas at Austin, Maurie McInnis, Executive Vice President and Provost at the University of Texas at Austin, Rachel Lindsay, lawyer, sports commentator and TV personality, and Freida Pinto, entrepreneur and actor attend the unveiling of the Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership Institute At The University Of Texas At Austin on September 24, 2019 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Rick Kern/Getty Images for Kendra Scott)
Among the hundreds of women in attendance was yours truly, driving up for the event with building anticipation for the star-studded ceremony. As I walked along the campus pathways to the concert hall, I passed by swarms of young college girls, buzzing with wide-eyed optimism themselves. I sat just a few rows from the front, surrounded by their energy and enthusiasm for Kendra’s inspirational words and Cam’s moving lyrics. It struck me that the WEL Institute will have a ripple effect, not just for the girls in that room, but for the employees they eventually hire. The companies they eventually transform. And the families they may one day start themselves. The motto of the Institute is “Empowering women to lead. Encouraging the world to follow.”
WOW. What a power-packed punch to the gut that is. How many times in my career have I felt myself shrink from opportunity that a man would have jumped at? How many times have I overly concerned myself with how my opinions would be felt by those in the room with me, simply because I am a woman? If the Kendra Scott WEL Institute can both empower its attendees and encourage the world to then accept them…what a wonderful world it will be.
XO,
A
