On Thursday, March 12, 2009, I was invited to be the moderator for a panel discussion during the Third Annual “Pearls of Wisdom: Women’s Leadership Conference” held at Baruch College, the nation’s most diverse campus.
Caroline Lee, President of the Collegiate Association of Women in Business (right), led a wonderful and energetic team of undergraduate students including Sufia Farha (left) in organizing and putting on this event. Sufia and I met last year when I also moderated the panel.
The keynote presenter was Mariela Dabbah, author of Latinos in College and other books on career advancement, job search, and education. The focus of her talk was on ways to navigate the American system in order to succeed in this economy. An energetic speaker, she engaged the audience to speak up and ask questions—and to continue to do so in the workplace.
Panelists included Karen Nethersole, Esq., CEO and Founder of Full Circle NY; Deborah Papson, Executive Director of the Investment Bank Risk Managment Team for JPMorgan; Susan Schulz, Special Projects Editor of Hearst Magazine; and Theresa Torres, Director for Diversity and Employee Experience for Verizon Communications.
Although the panelists had reviewed the questions beforehand, they indulged my request to go “off script” and answer specific questions for the audience of what looked like over 100 women and men.
One of those questions was: “What are three skills that college students should develop to be relevant in the new economy?” All the panelists had terrific ideas. Here’s a list of some of them: 1) Know exactly what you want when you go into an interview; 2) persevere and don’t give up; 3) be open to learning; 4) knowledge is a great equalizer; 5) with reduced staffing, team work becomes more important and allows individuals to be in the spotlight; and 6) our current economic circumstances can create great opportunities if you have the right attitude.
Theresa suggested that individuals have disciplined passion to pursue what you love and enjoy doing.
It was great to have the opportunity to hear these and other “pearls of wisdom.”
One more note: there were more men in attendance this year than last. During a reception after the program, I asked a student, “Why?” She said basically because the school environment is so diverse. When students enter as freshmen, they are immediately in a “United Nations” of cultures, races, and ethnicities. That carries over to gender and the ability to work together on class projects, events, and other activities. This generation of students at Baruch seems to be on the right track to be great leaders!
