Zelia Wiley goes to work every morning hoping to inspire her female students by listening to their doubts and reminding them they are heard and valued.
Wiley is the Assistant Dean for Diversity in the College of Agriculture and has noticed that her female students often question their worth and feel like ¨imposters¨ after getting their degree.
During her years at K-State Wiley has discovered that the only way for her students to feel like they belong is to be acknowledged. ¨Some people don't feel like they should be celebrated,¨ Wiley said. ¨[When] we acknowledge what women do gives them the opportunity to continue and to be encouraged to do their best.¨
Wiley believes that it is part of her journey to be a good example for young women and encourage them to thrive. ¨If I see students like yourself and you can see that I stay positive, I hope that it encourages you to stay positive and like who you are, ¨ Wiley said.
Aurora Ortega, a sophomore in accounting and finance, has experienced the hardships of being in a male-dominated industry. ¨If you walk into one of my finance classes there are only like six girls out of 25 boys,¨ Ortega said.
Ortega also works in the Civil Engineering Department in which she has also noticed a lack of women representation in higher paying positions. ¨For my job I only work with females… However, our department head is a male,¨ Ortega said.
Ortega has excelled in her classes and major in part due to the support she receives through the Rise Up program that helps any underrepresented group majoring in business. ¨Our program director tries her very best to have a bond with each student personally,¨ Ortega said.
From her experiences as a first-generation college student and Hispanic female, Ortega hopes to grow and give back to future generations. Ortega said she hopes to be a good role model for little girls and show them that women also have the ¨potential to do great things in life.¨
Katie Schmit, a sophomore in Marketing and a Student Coordinator at the Business Department, has noticed some major changes from the research that she does for her workplace. ¨For example, the percentage of Fortune 500 CEOs that are women,¨ Schmit said. ¨I believe it was about 8.6% and now it's over 10%.¨
¨I think a feminine trait is to be caring and [it´s] something I´m very proud to have, ¨ Smith said. She hopes to use this trait to protect and inspire future generations of women.
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