International Women's Day 2026

To mark International Women’s Day 2026, the Early Careers Launchpad and Rhodes Scholars in Residence invite you to a one-hour virtual panel discussion exploring the people, decisions, and turning points that quietly shaped a life of purpose for a select panel of Rhodes Alum.

Facilitated by a Scholar in Residence, the conversation will bring Rhodes Alum and Schmidt Science Fellows Dr Megan Engel (Prairies & Merton 2013) and Dr Gladys Ngetich (Kenya & Oriel 2015) together to reflect on the women who have influenced their career trajectories; as mentors, colleagues, exemplars, and, at times, challengers. Rather than polished success stories, the panel will navigate the balancing of ambition and uncertainty: the mentors who mattered, the mistakes they are glad they made, and the decisions that were "wrong on paper but right in life".

The discussion will consider what it means to invest in others while shaping one’s own path; how mentorship and shared wisdom can expand both individual and collective possibility.

Together, the panellists will explore:

• How mentorship evolves across different stages of a career

• What early-career missteps can teach us, in hindsight and in practice

• How values, intuition, and lived experience shape decisions beyond conventional markers of success

We warmly welcome participants from across disciplines and geographies to join the conversation.