On April 6th, Her Campus at Lasell partnered with Lasell’s Student Government Association, Campus Activities Board, and both the Alumni Association and the Student Alumni Association to host a networking event. Held in the evening, the event brought together a panel of alumni women in various professional fields. After the panel, there was time to network with both the panelists and other attendees.
The panel boasted seven women from a variety of fields. Almost all were alumni of Lasell, except for Crystal Porter who serves here at Lasell as our Vice President for Enrollment and Marketing. Some of the fields represented included business law, personal training, and product development. They all had such amazing insights and advice to share, it would seem a waste to not make their knowledge available to you all. Here are just some of the things I took away from the panel.
INSIGHTS
One of the questions Her Campus wanted to ask our panelists was how being a woman had affected them in their field. Many of the panelists jumped right into answering as they were some of the only women in their male-dominated profession or company. Despite this fact, they have all found ways to work this detriment to their advantage. Sara Roberts, who works in marketing, spoke of the women’s professional group at her firm, and how they work to create fair and equitable advertising that creates the kind of world they would like to live in. Amanda Beaton, an HR specialist, spoke on how she would be traveling to her company’s UK location and was excited to meet the other women she had been working with remotely. Crystal Porter spoke about how she used to sit down with her female sports management students and have a frank discussion about the male-dominated field they were about to enter. Overall, there was a sense that women should uplift and support each other in their fields, and make a brighter future for both those they mentor and the outside world.
However, multiple panelists made the point to emphasize that their womanhood should have no bearing on their job performance. Ariana DiOrio, who works in athletic training, spoke of the times her clients were unsure of her abilities, and how she had stood up for herself and her male coworkers had come to her defense. One of my favorite lines of the night came from Katie Stopera, a fashion merchandiser, who said “You’re not just a specialist in being a woman.”
ADVICE
The panelists had plenty of advice to dish out to the audience. When asked for their guidance on networking in particular, they were quick to emphasize the importance of both on-campus resources as well as digital ones. Panelists were sure to shout out Lasell’s own Career Center, and the multiple opportunities to connect to companies and alumni the center offers. They also asserted the importance of LinkedIn for creating connections. Sara Roberts spoke of her method of ‘cold DMing’ employees at companies you’re interested in, or other Lasell alumni. It was even how she got her current position!
Another highly useful piece of advice the panelists all emphasized was the importance of boundaries to creating a healthy work/life balance. Crystal Porter spoke of how her past boss would not answer emails after 6, and how she maintains that boundary now that she is a supervisor. Shirley Fan-Chan, who spent much of her career in nonprofit work, advised finding something entertaining to do if you work an emotionally grueling job (for her, that was shopping). All the panelists emphasized that your mental and physical well-being should never come at the expense of your career.
Overall, this was a truly amazing event. It was extremely comforting to hear from successful women, especially ones from Lasell’s community. I commend the hard work that all the organizations and clubs put into the event, and thank the panelists for taking time out of their day to be with us.