‘Our Conversation with Cindi Bigelow was Highly Impactful’

In a memorable event in which students at the University of New Haven witnessed Cindi Bigelow, president and CEO of Bigelow Tea, in a live conversation with Bruce Barber, there certainly was intense learning and life lessons that students will draw from and implement throughout their lives and careers.

In her extremely candid and down-to-earth way, Bigelow listed and spoke about several topics that circled the life of a CEO and the busy life of a woman. Her impressions about women's empowerment touched me to the core. Her ideas and implementations behind choosing to build a potential work-life balance, as well as her discussion of ethics and nurturing a balance between professional and personal well-being, are worth writing about.

As I reflect on the conversation with Bigelow, I think of the subtle and joyful nature she exudes. Undoubtedly, Bigelow is a woman of her word and is highly determined, someone who believes in the power of earning what she wants and providing as much as she can. Her presence toward her children, even during the hours she must be present as an available CEO, touched me. One of her anecdotes included answering the calls of her kids while she was busy interviewing a candidate, and it was something I will never forget.

Bigelow’s theory of “earning what you want” impressed me. I loved her idea of thriving in the position we wish to see ourselves in. As a woman CEO, she made herself stand out, running her family's tea business, which stands among the top-ranked tea companies in the United States.

Events such as these, where we are taught about the importance of building ourselves in any circumstance, add immense value for any individual. Our conversation with Cindi Bigelow was highly impactful as we learned about her as a person and how she is as a CEO, and her views, aspirations, goals, and knowledge came as bonus learning.

Such empowering events where a woman's work is highlighted are of supreme benefit. She taught us why it is so necessary to be independent in today's time but also to be present for one's family, and the balance between the two is how one can be termed “successful.”

Kudos to the Women in Business Club and the Women's Leadership Council, who organized, conceptualized, and implemented a remarkable conversation with the woman herself, Cindi Bigelow.