Meet the Team of Fall 2018
Rija Arif
President
Rija Arif is the President of Bauer Women Society this Fall semester. She was previously the Media Director, Finance Director, and Vice President. She is currently a senior, double majoring in Accounting and Management Information Systems. Wish her luck. She plans to end school with a hefty amount of unwanted debt. Her dream job would be to be an accountant or data analyst for Chanel, Hermès, or Christian Louboutin. Really, anything to pay off that debt would be great.
Rija is a frequent flyer. Some of her favorite places she has visited are Australia, Portland, and Paris. She loves to seek adventure in new places and learn cultures in different countries worldwide. She will also probably leave spontaneously for a trip and inform everyone a day before. She apologizes in advance.
Outside of school, Rija has a passion for all things beauty. She is a certified makeup artist and does freelance hair and makeup. Her biggest client to date has been the Houston-based rapper, Slim Thug. If you need your makeup done, she’s your girl. One of her main aspirations is to build her own makeup brand inclusive for all skin-tones, races, skin-types, etc. Rija has been an active member of Bauer Women Society since Fall 2016. She credits BWS for providing her with many opportunities and helping her through her first semester at the University of Houston. As a transfer student, she understands how stressful it can be in a new environment and wants to be there for any member who needs help.
Helen Aihevba
Vice President
Helen Aihevba is the Vice President for Bauer Women Society and has been a member of the greatest organization in Bauer since her freshman year at the University of Houston in Fall 2015, previously serving as the organization's Media Director and Logistics Manager.
​She is currently a Senior and decided, after much trial and error, to major in Marketing and go to law school after she graduates from the C.T. Bauer College of Business. She hopes to one day finish all her schooling with a degree in International Law.
​Helen loves to spend her time eating with friends, working out (which she knows is very contradictory), volunteering, and exploring/ traveling Houston and the world. She was born in The Netherlands, does not speak Dutch, and has visited over sixteen countries. She loves meeting and interacting with new people and is always open to trying new things, except roller coasters, escargot, and zoos, which are all no's for her.
Ginnessa Johnson
Finance Director
Ginnessa Johnson is the Finance Director for Bauer Women Society. She began her college experience at the University of Houston in Spring 2017 as a transfer student and is currently working on her Bachelor's degree in Finance and Human Resource Management. ​
Upon transferring to UH, Ginnessa explored different ways to give back to the community and make connections. She immediately found a home with BWS. As a member, she was thoroughly involved in BWS events and was later recognized for various awards, including the Most Active Member Certificate and the BWS Academic Award. She went on to serve as the Media Director in Spring 2018 and now hopes to continue the society’s efforts for diversity and inclusion, leadership development, and providing for the members and community. ​
In addition to her involvement with BWS, Ginnessa is also a troop leader for the Girl Scouts of the San Jacinto Council. She assists young girls with building the three C's: courage, confidence, and character. She currently enjoys discovering new karaoke restaurants to sing at in the Greater Houston area.
Obumneke Jiwuaku
Operations Director
Obumneke Jiwuaku is the Operations Director for the Bauer Women Society. She is a sophomore at the C.T. Bauer College of Business where she is pursuing an accounting degree. She has been an active member in BWS since Spring 2018. The organization has given her the courage to branch out of her comfort zone and network with others. She wants others to “not get comfortable” and to embrace new challenges in their lives.
In her free time, she enjoys listening to many genres of music, watching basketball games, eating, collecting t-shirts, and hanging out with friends. She loves helping and motivating others to reach their full capabilities.
Kate Banwell
Logistics Manager
Kate Banwell is the Logistics Manager for Bauer Women Society. She is a sophomore majoring in Management at the C.T. Bauer College of Business and has been an active member BWS since Spring 2017. She credits BWS for not only creating lasting connections within the Bauer College but also helping herself develop professionally.
Kate enjoys spending time with her family and friends, taking yoga and cycling classes, and snuggling her precious pup, Leo. Kate is a truly dedicated individual who commits herself to creating new traditions and making an impact within everything she does. She is very excited to meet all the new members for the fall semester and hopes to create a place where anyone is comfortable to be themselves.
"Buckle up, and know that it's going to be a tremendous amount of work, but embrace it." -Tory Burch
Inaara Panjwani
Senior Corporate Relations Director
Inaara Panjwani is the Senior Corporate Relations Director for Bauer Women Society. She is a junior at the C.T. Bauer College of Business, pursuing a degree in Accounting and a minor in MIS. She was Junior Corporate last semester and enjoyed every second of it! She has been in Bauer Women Society longer than she has been in Bauer. This society helped her find what she is truly interested in, which is why she changed majors. ​
Given that she has changed majors, she understands the challenges that come with it and will gladly help guide those who are doing the same. Her goal is to help all BWS members feel comfortable and confident in what they are doing.
When she's not at school, working, or working out, she likes to spend time with family and friends and to explore. She enjoys touring museums, visiting exhibitions, and watching movies in her free time. She hopes to be an internal auditor one day like her sister.
Ivonne Rubio
Member Relations Director
Ivonne Rubio is the Member Relations Director of Bauer Women Society. She is a business student at the C.T. Bauer College of Business at the University of Houston, pursuing a major in Management Information Systems. She has been an active Bauer Women Society member since Fall 2017, where she participated in the Operations Directorate.
She currently works for Brilliant Energy in the Commercial Sales department as an Analyst. In the past year, Ivonne has held an internship position in Shell.
Aside from being passionate about technology and innovation, Ivonne enjoys experiencing new restaurants in her free time. She also enjoys being creative and create calligraphy pieces.
Bauer Women Society gave her a place to meet people, have fun and develop herself professionally, and she hopes she can give others the same welcome experience. Lastly, Ivonne wants our members to know that she’s here for anything they need, so please feel free to reach out to her!
Rabbia Sandhu
Media Director
Rabbia Sandhu is the Media Director for Bauer Women Society for the fall 2018 semester. She is a sophomore majoring in management in Bauer Honors and hopes to minor in graphic design as a bonus. She first joined BWS in Spring 2018 after hearing so much about it from previous BWS members. After experiencing BWS for just a semester, she learned so much about not only the business world but also herself, which is why she decided she needed more to do than just attend the events. Jumping to an officer position after just one semester, Rabbia looks forward to capturing the image of BWS through her officer position.
Outside of spending her days at UH, Rabbia spends her time painting and crafting. As a self-proclaimed artist Rabbia enjoys creating and sharing her art in hopes to one day run her own business doing what she loves. She wishes to carry on her creativity through BWS and with its members. Outside of painting, Rabbia enjoys eating, singing, and hanging out with friends...mostly at places that include food.
Rabbia is looking forward to interacting with all the BWS members and can't wait to be snapping pictures to capture moments of success through our events and socials!
Jasmin Ventura
Community Service Director
Jasmin Ventura is the Community Service Director for Bauer Women Society. She is a junior majoring in accounting who will hopefully soon graduate.
Jasmin has been a BWS member since Spring 2017. Jasmin became an active member when she joined BWS. When she joined BWS she knew she wanted to be part of the group that made a difference. She would like for all members to feel as welcomed as she did when she joined.
In her free time, Jasmin loves to shop. She also loves spending quality time with her family. Jasmin also enjoys going to different restaurants as she likes to try different types of foods.
Rubi Hernandez
Secretary
Rubi Hernandez is the Secretary of Bauer Women Society. She is a senior majoring in Accounting. This is her fourth semester at UH in the Spring of 2017 and her third semester as a member of BWS since Fall 2017. She transferred from the University of Houston-Downtown where she completed some of her basics.
She works part-time as a tutor for Upward Bound, a program at the Houston Community College. There they prepare high school students for the college or university they wish to attend. She also likes to spend time with her two pets; a chihuahua named Paloma and her cat called Drogon. She hopes to travel to many places, especially Japan.
​Since coming to UH, Rubi wanted to expand her network and began to seek out other opportunities outside of her classes. Joining BWS has helped her come out of her shell and wants to help other women in business succeed through the events BWS prepares. She was thoroughly involved in BWS last semester where she earned her corporate, fundraising, and distinguished member awards for Spring 2018. She loves that the organization is so inclusive, diverse, and encourages the members to reach for their goals. As an officer, Rubi hopes to inspire others to be fearless of what the future holds for them.