The Women in Business (WIB) Wire has created the first ever “30 under 30: Cal Poly’s Most Influential Women” list. Inspired by the Forbes “30 under 30,” the goal of this list is to find and recognize 30 women younger than 30 who are leaving an impact on Cal Poly.
The Wire is an affiliate of the Cal Poly WIB and aims to highlight women’s perspectives and draw attention to women that work toward closing the gender gap. Its mission is to empower women through stories about women who are doing impactful work on this campus, including both students and professors. Articles on the WIB Wire also cover topics about women in the industry.
“If you look at your Snapchat or your Instagram or literally any kind of social media, a lot of those articles that are targeted toward us are Cosmopolitan type stuff,” business administration sophomore and WIB Wire editor Anjana Melvin said.
Melvin was inspired to create this list when she heard about a woman architecture student who was building a center for women and children in Rwanda for her senior project.
“I thought that was really cool and I don’t think that you can hear about all of the cool things that women are doing unless you know them,” Melvin said.
Nominations for “30 Under 30” were made through a form posted on Cal Poly class Facebook pages and The WIB Wire website. Melvin was pleased to see that nominations included representation from all over campus.
Political science sophomore Rosa Elena López is one of the women featured on the list.
“I was really ecstatic and just honored to be recognized by such a wonderful organization on campus that really works to promote women in the workplace and empower them most of all,” López said.
López made the list for her involvement with multiple clubs on campus and for receiving one of WIB’s “Defining Her Future” scholarships.
“I think [the list is] a great way to showcase some of the wonderful students we have on this campus and all of the many things that they are involved in and that they do,” Lopez said about the list.
Electrical engineering senior and president of Society of Women Engineers Melinda Ong said she was honored to make the list and is impressed by WIB for having a program that recognizes women.
“I think it’s to diversify the face of this campus by recognizing women from all of the different colleges,” Ong said.
30 under 30 by The WIB Wire on Exposure