Shhh - it's starting!

Okay, the bell is REALLY loud!

It's actual confetti!! I thought it was digital!

Is that us on TV??

Whispers I heard yesterday as 25 Être girls from 5 schools across 3 states met each other on the floor of Nasdaq's MarketSite studio to celebrate Day of the Girl a few days early.

All photos courtesy of NASDAQ and Sam Wallander

Invited by Nasdaq Executive Producer and Host of Live from MarketSite Kristina Ayanian and teaming up with international correspondent and Golden Globe Foundation Board member Miriam Spritzer, tomorrow's leaders cheered under falling confetti as the Opening Bell rang. Then they stood at the gleaming podium for photos, toured the exchange's newest studio facilities and ended the day in a boardroom takeover that was one for the books.

Were the Opening Bell moments special? There were, as they felt like a secret glimpse into the future where young founders like these might someday launch the next big thing.

Was the feeling under the Times Square Jumbotron electric? It was, as girls saw logos they love light up 7 stories high and we celebrated together.

Definitely in my orange era now! I heard one girl yell to another as they held their phones up. Definitely, I thought, and I had to smile as The Life of a Showgirl suddenly appeared on a nearby billboard.

Were girls comfortable in front of the camera in NASDAQ's state-of-the-art Studio B? Oh, you know it. This was one of my favorite moments of the day, watching impromptu bull and bear interviews take place amid peals of laughter as NASDAQ executives looked on.

In fact, the scene grew so animated that a few NASDAQ execs stopped what they were doing to answer spontaneous questions about market levers and the future of AI in finance. I love this, one of the girls said to me as she peered into the gleaming broadcast studio. THIS is what I want to do.

And was the boardroom panel the ballgame? Indeed it was. As girls took their seats at, as one girl murmured, the longest table I have EVER seen, insightful questions started to pepper the room.

Looking from Golden Globe Foundation Board member Miriam Spritzer on one side to Nasdaq's Kristina Ayanian and Linda Crowley on the other, girls alternated between raising their hands to speak and lowering their heads to furiously jot down takeaways from the mentors' answers.

I've never been so inspired by a group of panelists before, one NYC student reportedly said on her train ride back to school, and I agree...except that I would add the attendees to that as well. Elizabeth O'Connell and I were impressed over and over again not only by the unfiltered way girls asked their own questions, but by the empowering way they championed each other's queries. They are, I thought to myself, a group of bold and diverse thinkers that any company would be proud to have fill their boardroom.

With deepest thanks to our hosts at Nasdaq and our partners at the Golden Globe Foundation, our gratitude knows no bounds. This is how the role models do it, and as Day of the Girl approaches on October 11th, I feel more hopeful than ever that a bright, mentor-filled future is at hand.

Looking forward with bells ringing,

Illana