Aside from Commencement, another exciting event that took place on campus in June was the annual Forte Women's MBA Conference. This was the second time UCLA Anderson hosted the conference (the first time was in 2012). Among the hundreds of attendees from around the country was incoming UCLA Anderson Forte Fellow Sarah Wolf who shared some insights on the event below. Read on to learn more!
In addition to the full attendance sessions, I was excited to attend the “Own the Dance, Negotiating with Confidence” and “Lemons into Lemonade: Own Your Failures” sessions. Although I have long known there is a discrepancy between female and male negotiations, it was shocking to see the staggering differences between the sexes. And though I have been asked to “talk about a time you’ve failed” a number of times, it was incredibly helpful to think about the simple structure of a story in framing that interview question response.
What was your most significant takeaway from the Conference?
Women in business don’t need to act like “one of the boys” in order to be successful. Rather we need to own our differing perspectives and values as we re-frame the discussion about what attributes are necessary for success.
What are you looking forward to most about business school?
I am looking forward to spending two years surrounded by fascinating and intelligent individuals who will push me to grow as a person and businesswoman as I continue to push myself.
For more on the Forte Women's MBA Conference and other events at Anderson, check out the UCLA Anderson Blog.
