After graduating from Stanford University with a degree in medieval history studies and a short stint in law school, Carly Fiorina was unsure of what she wanted to do with her life.
While working a receptionist job at a small realty company, one of her multiple temporary positions, she was noticed by some of the men in the business who presented her with the opportunity to learn more about their work.
“Because those two men saw potential in me, I saw potential I hadn’t seen in myself,” Fiorina told about 300 people at the Phillips Center of the Performing Arts on Wednesday. “Everyone has potential more than they realize,” she said and repeated throughout her hour-long talk.
Fiorina, the first woman to head a Fortune 500 company, spoke about the qualities of leadership she finds most valuable and her life experiences that led her to those findings. Accent Speakers Bureau paid Fiorina $70,000 to speak, according to Alligator archives.
Fiorina stressed that leadership takes collaboration, character, humility and empathy. She did not speak directly about her political career as a Republican presidential candidate for the 2016 election until asked by students in the audience.
Fiorina acknowledged that being a female running for political office made things different for her than her male opponents, which sometimes posed a challenge.
“Sometimes being different can be an advantage as well,” she said.
During the question and answer section of the night, a student asked what advice Fiorina would give to women looking to enter the business and corporate world.
“My advice would be don’t get a chip on your shoulder and don’t hide your light under a bushel,” she said. “Go to the people who lift you up.”
Shelby Buchanan, a chairwoman for Accent, said she thought the speech went well.
“I think that people were really receptive to it,” Buchanan said. “People who have been on staff for a really long time were coming up to me afterwards and saying that it was one of the best Accent speeches that they had ever seen. I think people were definitely inspired.”
Zachary Newman, a UF marketing freshman, said the messages in Fiorina’s speech resonated with him.
“I liked that her speech wasn’t so much about politics,” the 18-year-old said. “It had substance to it and it applied to me and it applied to everyone here.”
