On Monday, March 20, during Women’s History Month, the Institute of Politics and Public Service (GU Politics) held their annual Women in Politics and Public Service networking event. Co-sponsoring the event were the Women in Public Policy Initiative (WiPPI) and the Leading Women of Tomorrow.
The event featured women who have built their careers around public service, politics, journalism, government affairs and more – as well as women from all across the ideological spectrum.
Kicking off the evening was a panel featuring Spring 2023 GU Politics Fellows the Honorable Elaine Luria and Jonae Wartel and Fall 2022 GU Politics Fellow Katie Harbath. The three women spoke to what first sparked their interest in pursuing a career in politics and public service and offered words of wisdom to the young Hoyas in the room.
Harbath spoke to her own experience taking the plunge and moving out to D.C. without a job – finding herself working in the digital campaign space right when social media platforms were taking off and then working at Facebook, which, she mentioned, didn’t even exist when she had started college years before.
“20 years ago is when I moved to DC and I didn’t have events like this to learn from other women as I was going through my career,” says Harbath, speaking to the importance of bringing women together to network and share their experiences.
All three women emphasized the importance of making sure your work doesn’t overshadow what is important. Luria noted that at the end of the day she won’t remember a memo she wrote or speech she gave 20 years back but instead will think about the moments she spent with her family or when she was able to enact meaningful change as a Naval officer or member of Congress.
“All of the women professionals that I got to meet with really cared about giving me advice not only as a future professional, but also as a human being and a full person,” says Alicia Gopal (COL ‘25), a member of the GU Politics Student Advisory Board.
“Giving us advice on how to balance your life and your work and school and internships – and kind of how to move through this space as a person and not just as a robot trying to get a job,” Gopal continues.
After the panel wrapped up, students participated in “speeding dating” like sessions where they got to speak directly with 18 different women professionals and hear firsthand what it takes to land that dream internship or first job upon graduation.
“Being on the Hilltop and being with GU Politics gives us the opportunity to interact with these really powerful and impactful women that really can connect to us and relate to us on a personal basis, but also provide mentorship and leadership and guidance to what we can do and our options to impact the world around us,” says Ellie Sims (COL ‘25), who is active in GU Politics, emphasizing how she found the event empowering to her as a young woman looking toward a career in politics.
This article was written by Lacy Nelson (MPS ’24), a graduate journalism student at Georgetown University’s School of Continuing Studies.