Four Cal Poly finance students attended the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) Women’s Global Leadership Summit in Boston in November, thanks to a gift from Oracle.

Finance faculty member Sharon Dobson lead Orfalea College of Business students Dana Mason, Denise Hensley, Melisa Zarate and Catherine Ryan on the trip to the eye-opening industry event. Through keynotes and panels, the students gathered insights from women presidents, founders and CEOs of global corporations. They also participated in workshops and roundtables discussing leadership, strategic planning, innovation and more.

During one networking session, the group met with Oracle CEO Safra Catz. “Listening to her speak taught me a lot, especially about the importance of making life and career choices that are different — and fun,” Mason said. “She has had an incredible career, and many of her biggest and best ideas have come from doing things off the beaten path.”

AICPA’s event aims to unite supporters of women’s initiatives, female financial professionals and accountants from all types of business sectors. The conference aims to advance leadership, boardroom diversity and the skills needed to enhance women leaders within the financial community.