ANNIE HARTMAN — As internship and job application season is in full swing, Denison students are actively applying while balancing their own academic deadlines. Women in Business is a new club this year that strives to be a group of women with strong and motivated goals in the workforce while continuing to work hard in class.
As much as some students love Denison, there comes a day when everyone must leave the Hill. This club aims to assist in this process by providing a group of women who support and mentor each other to be successful in the business world. They plan to gain professional skills as a group in order to be more prepared once that graduation date hits and it’s time to step out into the real world.
This semester, the Women in Business club is working on skills like perfecting your resume/cover letter, nailing that interview and utilizing network connections.
The club was formed at the beginning of the year by two members of the Delta Delta Delta Fraternity for Women, Darcy Shulman ‘19 and Helen Hinton ‘19. While they are both currently studying abroad, they wanted to share the reason behind starting Women in Business and hope to gain more members. Last summer, Shulman and Hinton both had business related internships that really sparked an interest for the need to start a club like this one.
Shulman ‘19, an economics and psychology double major said, “I wanted to empower females on campus to pursue and succeed in a male-dominated field by giving them the knowledge, resources and confidence to do so. I’m hoping this club will allow these women to have a louder presence in business on and off campus, as well as any similar field where they’re a minority.”
Hinton ‘19, a communication major also added how her own personal experience in the workforce inspired her to start the club.
“We both had internships in the business field where the majority of our bosses and people in positions of power were men. That’s what really made us want to create this club. Upon further investigation, we learned how little CEOs of major companies are actually women.”
Hinton and Shulman are excited to use the skills they learned abroad to bring new ideas to the club next year.
While these two ambitious go getters travel Europe, Halle Walsh ‘18, a communication major, is the current president of the club and knows the importance of having Women in Business active on campus.
“I am so excited that Darcy and Helen thought of this idea and I am thrilled to get the club in motion this semester while they are abroad. Business is an incredible field that can cover a wide array of areas and it is important for women to know every aspect and have the confidence to thrive in a male-dominated field. The Women in Business club hopes to empower people to make connections with other women on campus interested in the business world and network with Denison’s alumnae within the profession,” said Walsh ‘18.
This past thursday, the club met with entrepreneur expert Kerry Penland for lunch to discuss successful skills for making it in the business world. Penland has more than ten years of entrepreneurial experience in both for profit and nonprofit arenas. She led this workshop to not only explain how to start a business but also shared tools of entrepreneurial thinking in various areas of work and life. Throughout this semester, the club plans on attending more workshops and speakers like Kerry.
For now, the members of Women in Business are working on building their resumes and cover letters to help prepare for internships and job applications.
If interested in becoming involved, feel free to reach out to Darcy Shulman, Helen Hinton or Halle Walsh at [email protected], [email protected] or [email protected].