As an organization rooted in supporting females, we love when we see other clubs do the same. For this week’s Profile, we sat down with Logan Levesque, Jannet Desvira, and Kimberly Klebacher – three members of the Business Leaders of Emmanuel College’s all-female Executive Board. Read on to get to know more about this awesome organization on campus!
Her Campus at Emmanuel: Hi ladies! Thank you so much for talking with us! To start us off, tell me more about Business Leaders of Emmanuel College. What’s your organization’s mission? Do you hold any regular events/activities on campus?
Logan Levesque (’18), President: As a club our mission is to provide students in all disciplines with the tools they need to effectively market themselves and their ideas. We hold several events each semester but our biggest event is our annual Shark Tank where students present their entrepreneurial ideas to a panel of sharks to win a prize.
HCE: What do you typically do/discuss at your meetings?
Jannet Desvira (’19), Public Relations: We typically plan out potential events during the semester at our meetings and then get into further detail of each event once the list of events are set in stone. From then on, we will discuss the whole meeting about the upcoming event that we will be hosting from, the location, date, time, who we need to contact in advance, when to post flyers, and to deciding on what beverages and food to purchase for the event if necessary. We also discuss the improvements that we could make and talk about what aspects that made previous events successful so we know to carry these factors in mind when planning out our events. Our goal is always to put on the best possible event for students of all ages and majors to benefit from.
HCE: You have an all-female Executive Board, yet women currently hold only 4.4% of Fortune 500 CEO roles. What are your thoughts the lack of female leadership in business? In what ways are you working to change this?
Levesque: As a group we feel that it is important to discuss major issues of inequality that permeate throughout the business world. This year we are going to be having an event in the jyc to bring attention to the lack of maternity and paternity leave allotted to workers, and how this negatively affects the entire country.
Desvira & Klebacher at the Business Leaders Kickoff
HCE: What opportunities/support do you offer students looking to jump into the business world after graduation?
Kimberlee Klebacher (’19), Secretary: As an organization on campus we strive to offer students connections when looking to enter the business world. We make sure to structure our events around opportunities for students to connect with other students, faculty, and possible employers.
Desvira: Opportunities/support [also] come from the lectures and various workshops that we have presented in the past. We held workshops that focused on how to write an effective resume and cover letter, a workshop that was based on how to network, and the first steps to start a business which were presented with the help of professors from the business department. In addition, we also hold an annual internship panel that consists of either alumni or upper class students who share their background with internships or researches. They are able to then discuss these experiences with other students who attend this event. Last but not least, we host a campus-wide Shark Tank event in which we lead for the first time last year in the spring semester. It is based around the television show called Shark Tank where individuals or groups present their business ideas in front of judges. We plan on hosting another Shark Tank this upcoming spring semester as well. All of these lectures and workshops offer transferable skills that students are able to use into the business world after graduation.
HCE: How can students who are interested get involved with your club?
Levesque: We would love interested students to get involved by attending our events! At the end of this semester we will have several open executive board positions so anyone looking to get even more involved should email us.
HCE: Do you have any social media that people could follow for updates?
Desvira: We have multiple social media platforms that we offer for people to follow for updates. They can follow us on Instagram @businessleadersofec, Twitter @BLofEmmanuel, people can like our Facebook page at Business Leaders of Emmanuel College, follow us on Snapchat @businessleaders, or join the Remind App to receive notifications from us by joining with the code @g493.
HCE: Any exciting news or announcements you’d like to share with our readers?
Levesque: We will be holding an internship panel with students who have had an economics, business, and accounting Internships on November 29 at 6:30pm! We would love to have any interested students attend even if your major isn’t business the students have a lot of helpful knowledge to share based on their experiences.