New Year New Beginnings Party

Date of Event: January 27, 2015

For the fourth year in a row, SCWIST held their New Year – New Beginnings Party at the University Women’s Club of Vancouver. This event was not only about the new beginnings, it was also about celebration and continuation of the wonderful work from previous years. Most importantly, it was about reminding us that an overwhelming number of professional, committed and engaged women have been building a network of support, growth, and partnerships at SCWIST since 1981.

The gracious Edwardian mansion (The Hycroft) was the delightful site of the event, with peaceful surroundings and classy interior, just a perfect venue for the especial occasion. Attendees had the opportunity to mingle and network while enjoying some delicious treats.

Official Agenda for the evening started with SCWIST President’s overview of the milestones reached in 2014, including the events held during the year, the expansion of the Brown Bag series to SFU – Burnaby Campus, the success of numerous workshops and workshop series (Tools for Transitions), and most exciting of all, the invitation for SCWIST to appear in the House of Commons last November to address gender gaps in STEM and the actions needed to narrow the gaps.

An initiative that SCWIST has undertaken to narrow this gap and to advance women in STEM was the development of the Make Possible Mentoring Network, funded by the Government of Canada’s Status of Women. Working with the SCWIST community, Make Possible has built an ultra-sleek, user-friendly online platform to facilitate the connections between mentors and mentees based on the skills each have to offer and want.  Since the launch of the Make Possible Mentoring Network, there are more than 180 members, with over 1271 skills offered for mentoring, and 121 conversations took place on the network to date. Want to join? Sign up today, it’s free.

The night approached its end with more mingling to reconnect and build new connections, and the certainty that this year will be full of challenges, opportunities and growth.

Event was organized and led by the SCWIST Events Committee. Photos from the event are posted on SCWIST Facebook page.

Written by Olga Zamudio Prieto and Vladimirka Pereula, SCWIST Events Committee

Edited by Christiana Cheng