To celebrate International Women’s Day, a group of 8 Carmel girls along with Ms Fouhy and Mrs O’Farrell, were invited to a dinner held by the University of Waikato.  Carmel College and other girls-only colleges in Auckland, such as St Mary’s College, Epsom Girls’ Grammar School, Baradene College of the Sacred Heart, St Cuthbert’s College, Diocesan School for Girls and others – were present.  The evening was hosted at the Northern Club where we enjoyed delicious kai together and listened to three speakers.  We heard from the University of Waikato’s Vice-Chancellor, Neil Quigley, the Assistant Vice Chancellor-Pacific, Keaka Hemi, and Jen Baird, a Waikato Alumni and REINZ CEO. 

Jen Baird and Keaka Hemi both provided incredible talks about the strength of women and empowering us all to be the best versions of ourselves.  With Jen Baird encouraging us to back ourselves in every situation and put the hard work in to achieve our goals, a quote from her stuck with us “Today I will do what others won’t, so tomorrow I can do what others can’t”.   She talked about persistence and perseverance in life and appreciation for the people who help you along the way to reaching your goals, followed by Keaka, who shared about the strength of women, especially in her culture from Hawaii.  She also sent us away with the phrase ‘E Moa’, meaning go forward with strength.

The evening was well spent celebrating womanhood with our Carmel sisters and we hope that all the women in our school community feel just as valued and appreciated.

Ngā manaakitanga.

Victoria Da Silva & Hannah Macdonald, Head Girls