Chyanna Antonio is our 2017 Kogod Woman of the Year. Chyanna is a sophomore from Pottstown, Pennsylvania studying Business Administration with a specialization in Marketing and a Graphic Design minor.
She is involved in both professional and social Greek organizations as Diversity & Inclusion Chair of her sorority Phi Sigma Sigma, and a member of Alpha Kappa Psi Professional Business Fraternity. Chyanna is also an Orientation Leader and Vice President of Marketing for a new Kogod club, Undergraduate Women in Business, which she helped found.
Her Campus American Univrsity: What made you decide to venture into both professional and social greek life organizations?
Chyanna Antonio: I joined a social sorority first because I had an established friends group and wanted to branch out and meet more people. And then when I came back for the Fall semester of my sophomore year, I knew what I wanted to do with my major and I was looking for more professional development. I heard about AKPsi through a friend so I decided that was something that I was interested in to find people who were like-minded professionally. I like both of them! I like the social aspects and also the professional development that I got through AKPsi is really valuable too.
HCAU:Â Tell us a little bit about your inspiration to start Kogod Women in Business.
CA: It was actually my friend Isabella’s idea, and she originally wanted to start a women in Finance club because there’s not enough women in the Finance industry. Then she realized that she should open it up to all business majors. So she talked to me and a couple other people to help her expand the club and we talked about exactly what we wanted to come from it. Originally we were going to start it specifically for minority women in business, and eventually we decided to open it up to all women and people who face sexism in the workplace. We also opened it up to all majors because if you’re not in business specifically, you still need professional development skills. We sort of worked on this last semester and decided who we wanted to reach and what we wanted to accomplish with the club, and decided to make it basically a professional development club for women.
HCAU:Â What are your plans for the rest of your time at AU? And what do you want to do after graduation?
CA: It’s wild to think that we’re halfway done with college already. I feel like I was just walking onto campus yesterday! I definitely want to excel academically, I really want to dive into my major. I don’t want to coast through school, I want to challenge myself in the classes that I’m taking and in social aspects. I considered myself a pretty shy person before I came college but then I wanted to reach out and join more groups. Now that I’ve sort of found my place in college, I want to help other people find theirs. I am always looking for something new to do, so whether that’s studying abroad or taking on an internship, I’m definitely open to trying new things.
For after college, the kind of work that I want to do is social marketing, so working on social campaigns and things like that. I have been looking at a couple companies that do that and I am hoping to intern for them and maybe work for them in the future. I know that I want to stay in D.C. for a little bit and follow a job, like I said, try new things!
HCAU: What are you most passionate about?
CA: If I had to sum up everything, I would say that I am passionate about people. I really care about all the relationships in my life. I work to maintain good relationships with people that I care about and make new relationships with new people. With the type of work that I want to do, I want to market for social campaigns specific to who can’t speak up for themselves. I want to help speak up for them. In all aspects of my life, if I had to pick one thing, it would be people’s stories and making sure that everyone gets a fair chance.
HCAU: Who are your female role models?
CA: Beyonce! I used to not love Beyonce’s music but as I got a little older I started to realize she’s actually a badass person. When she came out with “Lemonade” I was like “Nope, she’s so great!” I also really look up to my mom a lot, which I know is very cliche but she’s such an amazing person and I want to make her proud so that inspires me. I have so many badass women in my life, between my best friends, my professors, my coworkers and my boss, it’s super inspiring to see other women doing such great things.
HCAU: Of all the activities around campus that you are involved in, which is your favorite and why?
CA: I would say my favorite is my work with orientation. I say this because I love AU, even though I do recognize its flaws, but being an Orientation Leader this Summer was probably the best experience that I had in college. I never thought that I would be the one to put on those bermuda shorts, jump around and tell people to love AU and high-five Clawed and sing the fight song. I honestly grew so much as a person and made these lasting friendships. To see the impact you can have on these students is really rewarding. Now in the position I am in as the Orientation Chair of Communication and Technology, my boss is great and she gives me a lot of opportunities to do what I want to do with the position. My co-workers are amazing, I work with two other women Felicia and Sada, and our team dynamic is just so great. I’ve had job where I’ve dreaded going into work but I never dreaded going to work for Orientation.
HCAU: What makes you feel powerful?
CA: A bunch of little things. Like when I have a perfect playlist in the morning and I’m walking down the street strutting to my own music and I feel like such a badass. Also, when I know that I did something to the best of my ability. To use school as an example, when I walk out of an exam and I feel like I definitely could have done better compared to when I walk out and I feel like I did the best that could and worked hard, that’s also really empowering.
I would also say just when I’m around my friends and people who are encouraging me. Something that I talk about with some of my AKPsi friends is this idea of knowing your Board of Directors, who’s going to vouch for you and be there for you in certain situations. I’ve been identifying my own Board of Directors and they’re the people around you who basically at the end of the day make you feel powerful and look out for you.
HCAU: What advice do you have to empower other women?
CA: I think the biggest thing that I would say is, if you’re thinking a positive thing about another woman, just go tell her. I think that we always assume that’s so weird, but I just think we need to tell each other more that we appreciate each other or think that someone’s doing a kickass job. On the other side, if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say it because we’re here to empower each other, not take each other down. As women, we’re never going to get anywhere if we don’t fight for each other and all women, not just some women. So, if you have something to say to empower another woman, go tell her, don’t just think it.
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Photos taken by Anthony Brunner.