South’s Women in Business breakfast brought over 100 students together to hear from successful women in various fields. On December fifth, for the past eight years, the breakfast continued to inspire countless female students which aids the growing number who participate in business classes at South, John Blix, Career and Technical Education (CTE) Teacher and Co-Sponsor of Women in Business Club, said.

Held in the Lyceum, the breakfast served bagels, muffins, and stories about the careers of women business professionals, Blix said. It was also split between a designated networking time where professionals, from judges to store owners, went table to table and talked to the attendees, as well as a chance for the panelists to answer questions from the mediator, Blix said. 

“It was something that was initially put together in our CTE department to promote greater awareness of [our] courses amongst [South’s] female population, since they had traditionally been underrepresented in business courses and enrollment,” Blix said. 

Bringing in a variety of women professionals, the breakfast gives female students multiple ideas of what fields they want to take on, senior Sarah Kim, Women in Business Club co-president said.

¨People end up knowing what they want to do.” Kim said “A lot of the girls are interested in business, which is why they come, [and they] feel inspired by the end of the breakfast.”

The breakfast was originally intended to be a standalone event, but in 2019, a group of students approached Blix and formed the Women in Business club. As the club grew, Blix began to notice more girls joining business electives. 

“I had two girls out of 28 students [in my accounting class],” Blix said. “[Last semester] half of my class was girls. [The breakfast is] saying to [South] girls [that] business can be for you. It’s not just for the guys. That message is getting through; I can tell you from my own experience.”