UW Bothell Recognizes Women in Leadership

Published: April 4, 2013

By Andrew Nguyen

On March 15 organization leaders, student staff, and social change advocates gathered at Mobius Hall to celebrate Women in Leadership. The award is presented by UW Bothell Student Life and is the culminating event marking Women’s History Month.

UW Bothell students Marlene Manzo and Crystal Gonzalez-Guzman were presented the Women in Leadership Award 2013. Guzman is Secretary of the Latino Student Union and brings awareness on social issues affecting the Latino community of Washington State.

Manzo is an ASUWB senior senator and member of the National Hispana Leadership Institute (NHLI). In June 2012, she was the only Washington student to be invited to the “Latinas Learning to Lead Conference” in Washington D.C.

Manzo says this was her third year attending the event, “Each time I attended, I walked away feeling empowered to continue my leadership activities on campus.” She added, “Because UW Bothell is developing great educational and community programs at such a fast pace, students are able to get involved by creating initiatives that fill the needs of our diverse student population. At the same time, we are building our own leadership skills.”

Keynote speaker and UW Bothell alumna, Jennifer Olsen ‘05, told the audience, “Be open to new possibilities while reaching the ultimate goal you wrote for yourself.”

After graduating from the UW Bothell School of Business with an MBA in Technology Management, Olsen thought she was taking her dream job at a large consulting firm.

“I stepped into a stressful, cold environment and constantly misunderstood my assignments. An opportunity came up to be a self-employed consultant and I took the risk,” explains Olsen.

Serving three clients, Olsen needed an employee and nanny to help balance work and family. The candidates she interviewed wanted to build their own client base. Olsen hired three employees and the company began to grow.

Olsen said to students, “We are honoring your contributions to the UW Bothell community for imagining new possibilities and not waiting to take the first step.”