PBWC scholarship recipient helps younger girls succeed
BERKELEY, Calif. (KGO) -- The Professional BusinessWomen of California is known for supporting the next generation of young business leaders. ABC7 News met last year's scholarship recipient -- a UC Berkeley student who's on track to lead others.
Saaleha Bey wasn't sure she would fit at UC Berkeley. She told ABC7 News, "African-American students are still less than three percent of this campus. We only make up 800 students out of 23,000 and that includes graduate students."
But by coming here, Bey knew she would send a powerful message to other African-American students younger than her. Today she's part of the Black Recruitment and Retention program at Cal.
That love for mentoring and leadership started at Oakland Tech where she attended high school.
Bey continues to mentor students of underserved communities. The organization is called 100 Strong, which connects girls with female mentors at UC Berkeley.
Once a week, Bey and the other Cal mentors visit Realm Charter School in Berkeley. They tell girls in middle school that anything is within reach.
"You can start making change, you can start actually impacting what you want and looking at what you want early on," Bey said.
That attitude won Bey a scholarship last year from the Professional BusinessWomen of California. Each year, four scholarships are awarded during their conference.
"An important piece of that is supporting and bringing forth the next generation of female leaders," Deepti Srivastava from Professional BusinessWomen of California said.
Bey is double majoring in computer science and international business.
"I want to come back to Oakland, come back to my home and help re-create businesses within my community," Bey said.
At 18, she's well on her way to making a difference in her community.
ABC7 is a proud partner of PBWC. You can help young women leaders like Saaleha Bey by supporting the PBWC scholarship. Find out how to donate and get more information about Tuesday's conference here.
