On Wednesday, March 23, the second annual College of Business and Public Affairs Women’s Leadership Forum was held in the Sykes Ballroom.
This was a night dedicated to helping young women create their future. It was an inspiring evening where students were able to learn great skills and tactics to take with them into the work force through motivating speakers and alumni.
Two West Chester alumni, May Van and Mary Pat Knauss, were also the advisors to three current students, Rebecca Anderson, Elsa Knapp and Kimberly O’Neill, and together they planned this enlightening evening.
This team of five did a magnificent job creating a night of learning and networking.
Just from attending the event, it was obvious that a lot work was put into planning, setting up and making the night go as smoothly as it did, and they all did an incredible job.
Alicia Rodriguez, VP of Investor Relations at Agilent Technologies, was the keynote speaker of the night. She was both insightful and engaging. From the moment she began her speech, people were immediately drawn in.
After Rodriguez spoke, we participated in a networking event while enjoying refreshments and, at that time, we had the chance to sit with the other speakers from the night to learn about things such as the proper way to dress for an interview and work.
Next, we participated in three workshop sessions to learn about topics pertaining to women and our future.
“Networking 101” was hosted by Jessica Tracy, VP of Business Development for Conner Strong & Buckelew.
“Negotiating Salaries” was hosted by Kenya Jacobs, Compensation Manager of Thomas Jefferson University & Hospitals.
“Delegation for Doers” was hosted by Diana Daniele, VP Marketing Manager for the Graham Company.
Throughout these workshops the businesswomen presented skills that we can take with us for the rest of our lives.
All ideas can help us both during college, and more importantly, after we graduate.
Knapp, one of the fellows, had nothing but joy in her eyes when stating, “We have been working very hard on this since October. It was a great learning and empowering experience for everyone who attended.”
The second annual College of Business and Public Affairs Women’s Leadership Forum was a great success, so if you missed it this year, be sure to attend next year.
You’ll learn life-long skills that will help you to become a woman in a leadership role and to create your own success story.
Aileen Assumma is a second-year student majoring in English literature. AA823823@wcupa.edu