Passions In Life

The Oregon Chapter of the Women at Intel Network (WIN) held its annual conference on Wednesday June 24, in Hillsboro, Oregon.  I helped invite Secretary of State, Kate Brown to be our Opening Keynote Speaker. Being a program member of Emerge Oregon and a board member of Women at Intel Network, I felt like I wanted to connect the two organizations because both promote women leadership. The conference had over eight hundred Intel women attendees and we had such an inspiring day.

My favorite event at the conference was the session called, "Discovering your life passions" presented by Janet Attwood and Ratika Arora. It made us think about what we really want in life. Each attendee got to write down their top 5 to 10 passions in life. We had to complete this sentence ten times, "when my life is ideal, I am _________." Later we wrote three markers or milestones for each of our passions to show that we're living our passions.

One of my passions that relates to politics is: "When my life is ideal, I am an American political celebrity." The milestones to show that I am living my passion are: (1) Elected to the U.S. Congress or become a U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan, (2) U.S. President and Secretary of State call on me to get advice on Pakistan, and (3) Be a guest on Larry King Live, Opera and the View. J While I know my passions and dreams may sound crazy to some, but these are my dreams that I know I will live one day.  As Janet beautifully said, "the secret to living a passionate life is, whenever you are faced with a choice, a decision, or an opportunity; always choose in favor of your passions."

I joined Emerge Oregon because I am passionate about world politics. I am already living my dream by being surrounded by amazing women and getting excellent training through Emerge. Thank you to each and every woman who is has helped Emerge America. I know that every program member will change the future. We have started dreaming and we will make a difference- our little dent in the world!!!

Saba Ahmed was born in Islamabad, Pakistan. After spending most of her childhood in Pakistan, Ahmed moved to Portland, Oregon and earned her Bachelors degree in Electrical Engineering and Physics from Portland State University and she will be completing her Juris Doctorate degree later this year  from Lewis and Clark Law School at age 24. She has been at Intel Corporation for several years and after law school, Saba hopes to practice law and help to bring about change in U.S. Foreign policies towards Pakistan and the Middle East.

By Saba Ahmed, Emerge Oregon Program Member 2009