A Night With the Ambassadors

On an evening with six distinguished ambassadors hosted by the WLP

April 15, 2016

WLP students gathering with an ambassador

WLP students engaging with Ambassador of St. Kitts and Nevis

By Sarah Olsen, WLP '16

The night with the ambassadors was definitely my favorite symposium this year by far. We are so fortunate to have been able to talk so closely with these powerful and influential women. I was excited yet nervous about being a facilitator, because of just how much I was looking forward to this event. I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to keep the conversation going if we ran out of questions and topics, but everything flowed nicely. Our small group with ambassador Maguy Maccario Doyle from Monaco talked about many different topics, from environmental issues to the benefits of being such a small country. My favorite quote from our small group, which Ambassador Maccario Doyle repeated in front of everyone during the panel, was “opportunities for excellence come from the most mundane tasks”. This isn’t something that I have directly thought about before, but it is so true. You never know when one thing may lead to another, so it is important to take risks and accept challenges in addition to embracing the simple things.

I was very surprised that there are only about 20 female ambassadors to the United States, out of 180 countries. It made me feel even more honored to be in the presence of these women, because it was just astonishing to think about how underrepresented women are in these positions. I admired how passionate everyone on the panel was, and they all had some unique story to tell. In addition, they all gave great advice. I wrote down so many notes on what they were saying, because it is nice to have that record to serve as a reminder that you can achieve great things and make a difference in the world no matter what you do. They were all very motivational, and I liked when they talked about finding your passion and being great at it. You don’t have to be perfect at everything, because no one is capable of that.

Hearing about the ambassador’s struggles with being in a male dominated field was a reminder that even though it may seem like a man’s world sometimes, women have so many great things to bring to the table that are unique and beneficial. Hearing the ambassador from St. Kitts talk about the definition of a diplomat, and how it sounded like the definition of a woman to her, was really interesting. It was a sad reality when the ambassador from Kosovo talked about how you can do all these amazing things and people will still only focus on the color of your lipstick. It was encouraging to hear the ambassadors tell us that we are the generation that is going to really work to change gender inequality.

It was so sad to hear all of the ambassadors bring up environmental issues and climate change too. This is such an important topic, and hearing the ambassadors say that it has definitely made an impact on their lives is so eye opening. We need to do something now in order to benefit the future, rather than continually putting things off. I was so saddened to hear about the islands especially, which are at risk due to the water levels rising. It made me very motivated to make a change in the world.

I felt very honored that the ambassador who talked to our small group wanted to take a group photo with us, and also asked about all of our majors and where we see ourselves after college. It was so nice that she was equally as interested in us as we were in her. Through this symposium, I gained a lot of knowledge on what ambassadors do, and also heard a lot of beneficial pieces of advice that I will carry with me for the next four years.