Empowering Women in Business; Christina Waltman’s ’25 Journey from Sisterhood to Leadership

As a young girl growing up in the midwest, Christina Waltman always dreamed of going to college in California, where she could see palm trees every day and spend her free time in the sun. She never thought that fantasy would become reality because her mom had one rule: “I need to be able to drive to you in five hours.” Determined to attend the University of San Diego, Christina did what she does best: negotiated.

Being raised in a household with three siblings and having five additional step siblings, Christina has a naturally competitive spirit. So, after visiting the University of San Diego’s campus and learning about the Knauss School of Business, she knew she had to make a strong case for her attendance. Explaining that the flight was only four hours away and that her mom would get the added benefit of visiting sunny San Diego, Christina won her parents over. 

“I’ve always been close with my siblings, especially my two older sisters,” Christina noted. “We all went to different high schools and I was determined to prove that my public school was just as good as their private ones and I could be just as successful… We’re still always talking about who’s really the best.” 

Despite the playful banter, Christina’s support system with her sisters has been a foundational building block in her life. So when she arrived in California, a flight away from family and friends, she knew that she wanted to find that same sense of sisterhood here at the Knauss School of Business. 

Being a double major in finance and real estate which have both been historically male-led fields, Christina decided to join Women in Business (WIB), a group that aims to empower women’s professional development in the business world.  “I joined [women in business] my freshman year. I went to three or four events my first semester, and then at the end of freshman year, I remember going to the president and I was like, I really want to be a bigger part of this,” she recalled. 

Christina quickly ascended to Vice President of Operations her second year, allowing her to see how everything was run on a day to day business. By third year, she was elected President of Women in Business and remains so today in her senior year. In her role at WIB she has partnered with her other board members to improve workflows and communication like tracking sheets for events, splitting the group into two sections (operations and marketing) and creating processes so that each member has a specific purpose and a way to work efficiently. 

Efficiency and organization seems to be something that comes natural for Christina. “Whenever I had a day off school I would spend the day in my dad’s work office on the 86th floor in downtown Chicago. I’ve always really enjoyed organizing so he would give me little tasks to help him organize and I really felt like I was doing something important.” 

Although organized from the start, Christina still credits the success and growth of Women in Business to the support from the board and their advisor and Professional Development Manager, April Cash stating, “I’ve really been able to lean on my two co-executive vice presidents… anytime I need absolutely anything, they respond to my text within five minutes to help me right away… then we all lean on April for everything, she's been the biggest advocate for our club.” 

Through their hard work WIB has held successful events like Quick Connections, where women leaders in different industries came to speed network with students, providing a stress-free and fun way to build connections while learning about different career paths. Starting in just 2020 and growing to now have 369 registered members, the club’s accomplishments have solidified its status as a great resource for young women to gain support during their college journey at Knauss. 

“It's always such an amazing environment and everybody is there for the same cause— that they want to uplift each other and be able to give each other the same resources that men have in the business world…we're one of the largest clubs in the school of business, which I think not only says a lot about our club and the events we put on, but that there are so many women that want to go into business fields.” 

Christina hopes that the group continues to grow and allow women more opportunities to succeed in the business world, even after she’s graduated this spring. Her next goal is to move back to Chicago to live with her sisters, hoping to work in real estate finance in a high-rise just as tall as the one her father worked in. 

— Jess Applonie