Four undergraduate economics majors, Khadija Hozefa Bilaspurwala, Sumaiya Imad, Lauren Smith and Celeste Tinley are part of the 2024-2025 Women’s Leadership Institute (WLI) cohort. The WLI is a collaborative effort between Michigan State University, alumni, professional women, and current students; and it is designed to support and empower women students with leadership aspirations.
“Being among the women in this cohort has been an amazing opportunity to develop as a leader and make connections across majors and industries,” said Lauren Smith.
The program’s mission is to ignite women leaders with a vision of advancing leadership equity for women globally through thought leadership, creating a sustainable community, and providing high quality programming for our students, faculty and the MSU community.
“I hope to connect with current and future women leaders, champion fearless advocacy for underrepresented voices, and build a legacy of impact that resonates far beyond our time here,” Sumaiya Imad said.
This select group of student leaders will be able to participate in meaningful conversations with experienced and successful women leaders from diverse backgrounds. The students will also be able to build personal portfolios and resumes, with real-time feedback from experienced professionals. The group will have several networking and mentoring opportunities, along with exclusive scholarship opportunities.
“WLI provides me with a space to grow, make mistakes, and learn to be a better version of myself,” Khadija Hozefa Bilaspurwala said.
“After four years of being a member, this cohort has helped me grow as a person and professionally, while surrounded by strong, like-minded women,” Celeste Tinley said.
To hear more from our WLI members, check out their posts on our Instagram.