On 16th June 2022, the Philosophy department and Warwick Enterprise, in collaboration with The Warwick Philosophy Black Voices Network, hosted an event for philosophy students. The aim was to highlight some of the success stories of Black women who graduated from the University of Warwick with a degree in Philosophy.

Four ambitious women made up the guest speaker. They were:

• Vera Okojie (FinTech Analyst at Visa / Founder of Career Confident)
• Hodo Hassan (Policy Advisor in the Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs)
• Shore Delano (Digital Project Manager at Magnum Photos / Founder of Rendition)
• Gabrielle Oke (Art entrepreneur)

The activity was chaired by Jude Folorunso (President of Warwick Philosophy Black Voices Network)

The speakers discussed their experience as students and provided some insight into their early careers. They explored the rationale behind their job choices, what working in their respective industries entails, as well as the skills and knowledge they have acquired while doing so.

The conversation then shifted to what types of innovation they may have adopted in their careers and what role an entrepreneurial attitude has played in their work during the years that followed.

Interestingly, the panellists acknowledged their lack of knowledge and awareness during their time as students at Warwick about certain opportunities, such as financing for student initiatives and other offers to support students via Warwick Enterprise.

During the Q&A session, an audience members question asked about the steps required to enter their chosen field. The panel discussed the number of rejections, obstacles, and massive efforts they undertook when launching their careers, as well as how this period of ambiguity caused them to feel frustrated and desperate at times. However, they stressed that they did not give up and kept trying until they achieved their objective. As one of the speakers stated, "failing is a part of the process, so persist and don't give up".

David Bather Woods, Senior Teaching Fellow in the Philosophy Department, said about the event: ‘We were proud and delighted to welcome back a quartet of our recent alumni and hear about their career journeys. They are the living embodiment of the things we tell our students: that the skills of a Philosophy graduate lend themselves to a wide variety of enterprises and graduate outcomes – in arts, finance, policy and governance, business and more. Members of the Black Voices Network have already expressed a strong interest collaborating with Warwick Enterprise on social enterprise activities in the future, and as a department we’re very keen to run similar events again.’