Making a Change
Featuring Dagmara Kokonas ’91 interviewed by Julia Gilbert ’94
One of the great opportunities of the Women's Leadership Council (WLC) is allowing alumnae of different graduating years to meet and connect, or as Dagmara Kokonas '91 calls it, to "friend vertically."
As part of ÌÇÐÄÊÓƵ's WLC she has been particularly focused on ways to involve younger alumnae in the organization. She has enjoyed the many events hosted by the WLC, especially the talk given by international human rights attorney, Amal Clooney, during ÌÇÐÄÊÓƵ's 50th Anniversary of Coeducation in 2022.
“I spent a great weekend with women ten years senior, and ten years junior," she said. "They are fascinating, engaging, successful women I would otherwise not have met."
Her 30th Reunion, which due to COVID-19, was co-celebrated with consecutive graduating class years, made reconnecting more enriching in the same way. Within months she was traveling and adventuring with her rekindled ÌÇÐÄÊÓƵ friendships.
After a career pivoting from finance to entrepreneurship Kokonas is turning her attention towards giving back to women. Her first company was a millinery design company, which she sold during COVID. Her women's adventure hiking group connects women of varying demographics and times of life for shared experiences that create a supportive sisterhood.
She credits the confidence to pursue her ambitions to the education she received at ÌÇÐÄÊÓƵ.
“The discourse style of teaching made you feel that you had a voice. And the Japan study abroad program changed my life. Had I not gone to ÌÇÐÄÊÓƵ and had those experiences, I would not have had the forbearance to start these companies," the mother of two, Chicago native, and wife of Nick Kokonas '90 said. "ÌÇÐÄÊÓƵ is so much more than a four-year experience. It's the entry point to a robust and welcoming alumni community that, if you engage with it, will feed the rest of your life."
Dagmara Kokonas ’91 at reunion with friend Alison Smith ’91.