When Hollie Elleman Calderon ’81 began thinking about college, she recalls how many people believed that female college 
graduates would get married, have babies and not work until their children were grown.
“Thank goodness I had parents who told me I could be anything I wanted to be,” said Calderon, now a senior vice president at JP Morgan Chase. She returned to campus Nov. 14 to deliver a talk, “Smart Moves in the Workplace: Strategies for Achieving Success,” part of the Ernst & Young Fall 2013 Lecture Series.
“Conditions for women in the workplace will change when more women assume leadership roles and when women start thinking differently about themselves,” she said.
She shared lessons learned on her road to success, including becoming aware of and overcoming fears about seeking a high-impact career. She described the qualities sought by management teams and gave students advice about how they can differentiate themselves and make a positive impact on their organizations.
“Keep your goals in the front of your mind and in the mind of those around you who have the power to make it happen and sometimes make it not happen,” she said.
Calderon’s lecture was supported by Robbi and Robert Feinberg ’78 and Ernst & Young; and it was co-sponsored by Women’s Studies and the Institute for Global Engagement. l
—Margaret Spillett