Cosmo Fujiyama, who owns a consulting firm in education design, was the keynote speaker at the 26th annual Women’s Leadership Colloquium @ UMW. Photo by Suzanne Carr Rossi.

At 25, Cosmo Fujiyama was at a crossroads, stalled between an internship and grad school. She’d had a long day at a professional conference, and she was feeling tired and drained. The last place she wanted to go was to a group dinner at P.F. Chang’s.

“It turned out to be an incredible opportunity,” Fujiyama told a roomful of women at UMW’s Stafford Campus, thanks to five words from the young man she sat down beside: “What’s bringing you joy lately?”

The question was pivotal for Fujiyama, now 34, who runs a Brooklyn-based consulting firm dedicated to bringing joy and emotional intelligence to the places people work and learn. She repeated the words on Thursday in her keynote address at the 26th annual Women’s Leadership Colloquium @ UMW.

Designed to foster the connectivity of professional women and inspire them toward a lifetime of leadership, the colloquium attracts managers, administrators, educators, business owners and representatives from the public and private sectors each year. Last Thursday’s event – brimming with breakout workshops; networking opportunities; and a colloquium-first, one-on-one career coaching sessions – revolved around the theme “Be Your Own Hero.” Read more.