NDB welcomed Luanne and Lauren Tierney to kick off the new Women’s Leadership Series last Friday in the Moore Pavilion.

Luanne is Lauren Tierney’s mother, and students were encouraged to bring their own mothers to the event. As the first of many future speakers coming to the school, the Tierneys shared insight from their career geared towards women in leadership positions. Their presentation centered around 11 general “myths” about life. They explained each one, and then provided anecdotes from their own experiences to show how they are untrue. These myths and their corresponding truths centered around topics like failure, change, and self-advocacy.

“We brought our different perspectives to the table,” Luanne said. “I want to reach out to the moms; Lauren was the one to have a message to the younger girls, so it was unique with our relationship.”

Lauren aimed to teach life skills that are usually gained from experience.

“There’s so many things as young women you aren’t taught in school
and people don’t talk about,” she explained. “You don’t have to be one thing in his world, you can change your beliefs, you can change your interests.”

The Tierneys both work in marketing, with Luanne specializing in helping women in large companies and Lauren in field research. Luanne graduated from University of California Berkeley and Lauren attended the University of Alabama. Lauren is also the creator of “Life Snacks,” a podcast where she interviews successful women entrepreneurs and helps her listeners understand how each became successful.

Friday’s event was put on by Director of Advancement Celine Curran with ASB assisting at the check in table. The night lasted from 5:30 to 7:30 and offered plenty of time to meet and speak with the presenters. A table of Epicurean pastries, cheeses and fruit greeted the event attendees, who mingled for half an hour before the presentation began.

To maximize participation, the class with the highest attendance were awarded spirit points and first dismissal to lunch for the next week. The senior class had the highest turnout, and were awarded 40 spirit points. The freshman came next with 30 points, followed by the juniors with 20 and then the sophomores with 10.

The event was fairly well attended, with many NDB students and quite a few parents eager to listen to the speakers. The night was first advertised in the NDB family newsletter and also in the morning announcements throughout the week leading up to Friday evening. An RSVP was required to attend.

“My mom saw it [the newsletter],” senior Brindha Ramanathan said. “And then she was like, ‘We should go there together.’”

Although this was their first time speaking at the school, the Tierneys are not unfamiliar with NDB’s campus as Lauren Tierney went to Carlmont High School.

“In high school, I played volleyball. My close friends went to Notre Dame,” Lauren said. “I went to prom, and I used to play volleyball here all the time.”

The pair were reconnected with the school by Curran, who worked with Luanne when she ran the ICA Cristo Rey program. The pair were excited to speak, even though this will be their first time giving a talk together.

“We’re a mother-daughter duo as of today,” Lauren said. “We’ve never spoken together before.”

Luanne did however mention that this might not be their last time presenting with each other.

“We’ll see how this will go,” she added. “A colleague of mine in the East Coast already reached out.”

This is the first in a series of women’s leadership programs for NDB students which will take place throughout the school year.