Maintaining a successful tradition, the Harvard Undergraduate Women in Business (HUWIB) held its 8th annual Intercollegiate Business Convention (IBC) on September 29th at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston, MA. Welcoming more than 1,000 women each year, the IBC provides a space for driven students and professionals from across the world to mentor as well as learn from one another. Through the experiences of and advice from top professional leaders in business, these ambitious female leaders are given the opportunity to learn about and explore (or expand) possible career interests and opportunities. Students from over 100 college campuses attend the convention. It is surprising, yet remarkable, that this opportunity is not limited to college students and extends its resources to high school students as well. It is also surprising and remarkable to see the several men who attend the convention. This year, I had the chance to join many of my fellow members in the Brown Women in Business team at the 2012 IBC.
The IBC is a daylong event, consisting of many networking opportunities, workshops, and career fairs. Throughout the day, the HUWIB presents two keynote speakers, one during the morning and one during the afternoon. This year, we had to honor to have New Zealander Sarah Robb O’Hagan, the CEO of Gatorade, and fashion icon Donna Karan, of DKNY. Both discussed the development in their careers as well as struggles. While O’Hagan discussed the sports industry, Karan discussed her Urban Zen foundation, which emphasizes on culture and empowering one’s well -being (mind, body, and spirit). Past speakers include Marissa Mayer (VP of Search Product for Google), Diane von Furstenberg (fashion designer), Bobbi Brown (Bobbi Brown cosmetics), Kate White (Editor-in-Chief of Cosmopolitan magazine), Anne Sweeney (CEO of ABC Disney), and Stacey Snider (CEO of DreamWorks). When attendees arrive, they are given a gift bag with gift cards and advertisements. Towards the end of the day, there is a raffle of items donated by sponsors, such as Donna Karan. This year, items included IBC t-shirts, Kaplan GMAT courses, DKNY body lotion and perfume, and a red Donna Karan bag (worth $500).
There are various workshops held throughout the day, introducing different fields as well as preparing for the professional field. Workshops include fields in fashion, art, design, event planning, marketing, public relations, entertainment, retail, banking, finance, consulting, economics, and entrepreneurship. In addition, workshops range from “Finance 101” to “Cracking the Case Interview.” Attendees are given a chance to ask questions and meet with those leading the workshops. This year, we welcomed our own Stephanie Kaplan, the CEO and co-founder of HerCampus to share her experience in “The Entrepreneurial Spirit: Start-Ups 101.”
An interesting workshop, this year, was the “Dress for success,” an expert advice on self-presentation for young professionals led by Margaret Batting, the founder of Elevé Image Consulting. This workshop was especially unique because the women at the convention, including students, Karan, O’Hagan, and Kaplan, women were dressed differently. Many wore business attires (most in dark colors), pencil skirt, dress pants, blazers, and shirts, while some had more dressy or casual styles. The keynote speakers wore their own ensemble that would not be formally categorized as business apparel and Kaplan wore a beautiful and stylish black with gold shift dress. Karan stated that her personal attire is black because there are many types of black. It was interesting to observe the various attires in the business realm.
In the career fair, attendees are given the opportunity to interact with representatives of several investment banks such as JP Morgan and business schools such as Princeton. Attendees are also given an opportunity to meet and interact with other professionals or other students during meals, roundtables, and an exclusive networking event towards the end of the day. In addition to networking and learning opportunities, college students are given the opportunity to present their business venture in the Business for Good Competition, which honored its fourth year this past September. Student teams present their impactful social enterprise ideas in front of judges, comprising of entrepreneurs and business leaders, for the opportunity of a reward of either $2,500 or $1,000 towards their project.
Overall, this year’s convention was phenomenal. It is remarkable that such a well-organized and elaborate event was coordinated and led by college undergraduate women. With the help of the many sponsors, the HUWIB hosted yet another successful event and are at the initial planning process for next year’s event.