Thursday night Northwestern undergraduate women flocked to the Kellogg School of Management’s Donald P. Jacobs Center for a night of food, networking, and business knowledge.
Around 70 undergrad women arrived to network with current Kellogg grad students, get advice for the GMAT, and listen to the keynote speaker, Siri Eklund.
At dinner students mingled with women in Kellogg.
“I came to the event tonight to learn a little bit more about the business world,” said Sinopoli, a sophomore Economics major with a BIP minor. “I met one current Kellogg student who was just so nice. She had some career experience I would like to relate to, and is, definitely just a good contact to have.”
Emily Fletcher, a recent graduate, works as the undergraduate marketing intern for Kellogg and helped plan the event.
“It was a wonderful evening, “ said Fletcher. “My favorite part was Siri Eklund, our keynote speaker. She was just so dynamic and inspiring.”
Eklund attended Northwestern and played tennis for the Wildcats. She came back for her MBA and is now the CEO and Founder of the Two Bright Lights company.
Eklund’s speech focused on her experiences in the business world and how she found her place. She spoke about working at a mainly male consulting firm overseas, and what it is like to be a woman in business. She also told women to let their paths chose them and not over- plan their futures.
“If someone told me four years ago I would be the CEO of a tech start- up and you’re going to love it, I would’ve laughed,” said Eklund. “Part of it is being open to opportunities, that’s where the magic happens.”
She discussed embracing that you are different and building lasting business relationships.
“Facebook is great for networking,” said Eklund. “But these aren’t the people you call when you need help or will do anything to support your business.”
She said she always just laughs off when people expect her to be a man before she meets them.
“I use it as a joke or an ice breaker,” said Eklund. “And if someone doesn’t want to work with me because I’m a woman, I don’t want to work with them either.”
After the speech, a panel of MBA students gave advice on balancing life and business school. Later on, undergrads learned more about how the GMAT business exam can affect business school acceptance and good strategies to use. A free GMAT course was even raffled off.
“I came out for some networking opportunities and just to get some advice,” said Jackson. “I was really inspired by Siri Eklund, and was just so happy with all I came away with tonight.”