This past Saturday, November 4, I attended Holy Cross’ Annual Women in Business Conference. Despite being an English major, my desire to pursue our school’s Ethics, Society, and Institution of Business minor prompted me to attend. As a newer Women in Business club member here at Holy Cross, this was my first real business and networking event. I had signed up at the last minute upon encouragement from two of my friends who were attending but I really didn’t know if I would get what I was looking for out of the conference, or if I was the type of student who should be attending an event like this. The conference was held in Hogan’s ballroom and began promptly at 9:00 AM, wrapping up at around 3:30 PM. I knew it would be a long day, but I was willing to give it a chance in hopes of bettering myself as a student and opening myself up to new experiences.
As the conference date approached, an issue I came across was the dress code. I only realized that business attire was required the day before the event when it was too late to go out and buy new clothes to wear. So, I woke up early and threw together an outfit out of what I had. Though I didn’t own a blazer, my business skirt and sweater combo wasn’t all that bad. Without any proper shoes either, I did end up having to wear my sneakers to the conference. Still, it all worked out in the end. Upon listening to alumni speak about their own experiences here at Holy Cross, the opportunities they were presented with, and their personal journeys to success in all aspects of the business world, I became assured that there was no specific “type” of student who could attend and learn from talking with and listening to business professionals. Just because I’m not an Econ or Accounting major doesn’t mean I should close myself off to opportunities to expand my knowledge and make connections.
At the conference, we broke out into smaller panels on two separate occasions, selecting and attending talks that were specific to our choosing. One of the panels that I attended was called “Keeping Up with Media: Staying Current with Technology”, and I got to listen to two exceptional Holy Cross alumni speakers share their insights into the business world of media and production, a desired career path of my own. Working at CBS and ESPN, both women discussed how they got to where they are today and why they believe the work they do is important. The panel really opened my eyes to the many job possibilities there are and to the extent to which Holy Cross opens doors and supports student success, even after graduation. If you’re like me and you’re interested in learning about business but hesitant to dive into the business world due to feeling not qualified enough or like it won’t benefit you, I encourage you to take the risk and I promise you that it’s worth it.