International Women's Day Celebrated at St Louis

We were delighted to host a truly special event to mark International Women’s Day. The theme of International Women’s Day this year is ‘Give to Gain’ and we were thrilled to welcome back eight of our inspiring past pupils. Joanne McEvoy, Deirdre Maguire, Caitlin Sands, Amy Higgins, Joanne McVeigh, Noreen McEldowney, Brenda Mullan and Sue Ellen Byrne each spoke to our Year 13 and 14 girls before going on to have more in depth discussions with smaller groups of students with Mr Kevin Martin (Principal) joining for some of those discussions.

While each of these women’s lives and careers have followed different paths the themes of empowerment, belief and a willingness to give of yourself shone through.

Mrs Cunningham welcomed the guests to the hall and introduced the event. She explained that all the women come “from a variety of professional spheres” and reminded our pupils that they, as strong, ambitious young women, “give us hope for what the next decade looks like.”

Caitlin Sands left St Louis in 2018 and went on to complete an MEng in Mechanical Engineering at Queen’s University, Belfast. Having “spent a placement year at the Northern Ireland Technology Centre working as an Automation Engineer”, Caitlin gained valuable experience in advanced manufacturing and automation design. Now in her third year as a postgraduate researcher at QUB, Caitlin’s research focuses on using artificial intelligence to support the design of surgical robots for eye surgery.

Amy Higgins is a third-year electrical apprentice. While at St Louis, she applied for university but realised she wanted to do something more hands on that allowed her to “earn as you learn”. Amy highlighted that while the electrical industry is a very male-dominated industry and admitted that posed challenges initially she reminded the girls that if there is a passion you want to pursue it is important that you “don’t let stereotypes stop you doing what you want to do.”

Joanne McEvoy is a Professor of Politics and the Head of Social Science at the University of Aberdeen. She told the students it is important to “Be yourself” and to “think of yourself as somebody other people will want to work with.” Joanne continues her own research in areas including peace processes and political institutions that have transitioned from conflict or remain deeply divided.

Memories of her time in St Louis were fondly recalled by Noreen McEldowney who took the students through her own meandering journey from working with asylum seekers in Australia to going into journalism and returning home to take a permanent job for five years with the Mourne Observer. While doing court reporting she was reminded of her ambition to be a solicitor and decided to commit to thar career path. On the topic of perspective and resilience she said to the girls that if faced with rejection you can turn it into a positive by treating it as redirection and stated, “Our greatest asset as women is what I refer to as the ‘two A’s’, adaptability and advocacy.”

Sue Ellen Byrne is an anaesthetic doctor in Daisy Hill and every day, working in a caring profession, gets the opportunity to embrace the theme of this years International Women’s Day – Give to Gain. Never certain of exactly what area of medicine she wanted to go into, Sue Ellen maintained that uncertainty was advantageous as it allowed her to explore all of the opportunities and pathways that came her way with an open mind. She finished by saying, “Oscar Wilde said that if you know what you want to be, then you inevitably become it - that is your punishment, but if you never know, then you can be anything.”

A Town and Country Planner with over twenty years’ experience, Joanne McVeigh works within the Major Applications Team at Newry Mourne and Down District Council. Assessing complex planning applications and working on big projects around the area she is proud to be able to make a real difference seeing projects go from ideas on paper to fruition. Joanne spoke in greater depth about her career and the opportunities that exist in that area of work with groups of girls and imparted great knowledge and wisdom which will be of great benefit.

Brenda Mullan is the Vice Principal of Clifton Special School in Bangor. She reminded the girls of the importance of every day, to take nothing for granted and to focus on the can-dos rather than the can’t-dos. She spoke powerfully of allowing your vocation to find you and, if you have a reason why you are doing something, then you are more likely to thrive in that area. Brenda said, “If you know your ‘why’, you will find your destination.”

Deirdre Maguire was the final speaker to address the group. Before bringing the girls on her story of tragedy, recovery, discovery, difficulty and, ultimately, happiness, Deirdre said, “I’ve never been older, I’ve never been fitter and I’ve never been happier.” She spoke with great feeling about the difficult moments in life where you feel unsure of yourself, unsure of how to navigate that moment but work a way through. As a Mind Wellness Specialist, she told the girls you can have control of your mind, body and spirit. Speaking from personal experience of love and loss, Deirdre posed the thought provoking question, “What if your lowest point is actually your turning point?”

The words of each of the speakers struck a chord and really resonated with our students. Our fourth celebration of International Women’s Day in St Louis, this event once again was powerful, inspiring, enlightening and a reminder to the incredible young women in our school community of the difference they can make, of the difference they will make.

Many thanks to Mrs Cunningham for organising.