Dima Ghawi’s message for future leaders
Maggie Tregre/The Lion's Roar
Dima Ghawi, an author and a leadership keynote speaker, speaks to the audience during “Passport to Leadership.”
The university welcomed keynote speaker and author Dima Ghawi to the Student Union Ballroom on Feb. 11.
Jointly organized by the College of Science and Technology, Workforce Talent Initiative and the student chapters of The Association of Computing Machinery, Women in Computing and Women in Technology, the Jordanian native presented “Passport to Leadership,” a motivational speech for aspiring leaders.
One of the points Ghawi made in her speech was the importance of speaking up during times of uncertainty.
“Many times, you will find yourself in an uncomfortable situation,” expressed Ghawi. “You’re going to find that there’s going to be miscommunication. You’re not going to understand a lot of things. What matters is to continue to be visible, to ask questions. I wanna encourage you to continue to ask questions, but also to dare to show up.”
Ghawi also emphasized the importance of effective leadership.
“Leadership is being human,” said Ghawi. “It’s about taking care of your team. It is guiding them. It is sometimes pushing them to go faster, or leading the way to help them, or sometimes walking with them step by step and not leaving them behind.”
Ghawi’s final point in her speech was how people can act as sources of inspiration for others.
“When we’re knowledgeable, when we’re self-aware, when we continue to seek education, have an open mind, drive change, that’s going to bring so much light in our life,” said Ghawi. “But, the best thing is when our life has so much light, other people are going to see it and they want light in their life as well.”
Madison Ledet, a freshman nursing major, attended Ghawi’s presentation. She mentioned that Ghawi’s story inspired her to want to help others.
“I heard about it through the Honors email that was sent out,” shared Ledet. “I was really inspired because I read up on her story a little bit, and to see where she had this basis of no education for the women in her family for her to be able to be so successful, it really inspires me to not only get that education for myself, but once I’m established to be able to look for those people and help them to have a strong basis.”
Editor’s Note: The story has been edited for clarity. 02/13/2020
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Maggie Tregre is an English education major from Baton Rouge, LA. She worked as a staff reporter and editor-in-training for The Lion's Roar from September...
Ashlynn Martell • Feb 13, 2020 at 11:48 am
It was the Association of Computing Machinery for woman that helped with the event. Just letting you know because the Association for Computing Machinery is it’s own separate entity on campus.
Prakriti Adhikari • Feb 13, 2020 at 12:22 pm
Thank you for commenting on our website.
The story has been edited to include the student organizations that helped organize the event.