On International Women’s Day on March 8th, Gateway held its annual Women’s Empowerment Day headed by Gateway 2 Careers Director, Mrs. Eckstein! Every year she puts together a celebratory event where influential women are invited to speak at Gateway to numerous female students who are nominated to attend.

A group of senior Gateway 2 Career students helps to plan and execute the event every year, as well as design the t-shirts and advertisements. This year that committee consisted of seniors, Tabby Bay, Brielle Heffernan, Emily Childs, and Maura Kearnes. They did an excellent job introducing the speakers and helping all to run smoothly.

Some of this year’s speakers included Jill Weber and Cassandra Burnett. They each passionately shared with the eager audience how they got to be where they are and what it took to feel empowered.

Cassandra, an attorney and bakery owner, shared how throughout the earlier years of her life she started to “hide”. By this, she meant she went from a confident, bubbly child with no fears or embarrassment to a young adult who would hide behind a smile even when she felt like she wanted to break down. She shared with listeners how important it was to be authentically yourself and let yourself feel every emotion.

Next, Jill Weber discussed how her free-spirited nature shaped her future as an archeologist. She discussed how she never cared about what others thought of her and felt her best when left to be with her own thoughts.

She explained how she worked in Turkey, Iraq, and other countries around the world where she gained new perspectives on life, “You don’t realize how small your problems are until you are in an area of war. It really makes you think.”

Jill also shared how important it is to have a strong network of people you can lean on. Both she and Cassandra are restaurant owners and struggled during the Pandemic, as many others. Jill was a founding member of the Sisterly Love Collective, a group of Philadelphia women restaurant owners who spoke and supported one another during and after the Pandemic. Cassandra is also a part of this group and both women spoke highly of those in the collective and the many achievements the group has attained, like fundraising for numerous important causes.

Overall, the International Women’s Day celebration was a massive success! The students were enthralled with the amazing speakers, the event was incredibly organized, and everyone had a great time. As Mrs. Eckstein expressed at the event’s closing, what a great opportunity Women’s Empowerment Day is for the Gateway community, she shared, “It’s a passion of mine to pair career-ready young women with strong females in a variety of male dominated fields to empower them to make a difference in their careers.”

We are all thankful that Gateway allows such an event to take place every year!

Gallery • 5 Photos

Melissa Eckstein

Kalise Miller, Allison Eckstein, Sarah Martin, Hanna Ruiz-Rieman, Charleigh Morrison, and Laurel Barrett at the Women's Empowerment celebration

Thank you, Mrs. Eckstein, the senior marketing team, the amazing guest speakers, and everyone else who made this day so incredibly special.