Tag: networking

This spring, Olin Marketing Association (OMA) hosted its first Networking Event incorporating the entire student body. OMA’s mission was to connect the Olin community we have right here.  (more…)

Olin’s Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital Association is hosting a panel discussion at this week’s Venture Cafe, Sept. 17, 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. “Who should an entrepreneurial student know in St. Louis?” is the topic and the EVCA is inviting 8 to 10 of some of the most important contacts a student should know in St. Louis. They represent important organizations, valuable support systems, or just give damn good advice, according to the Venture Cafe calendar!

The Venture Café Gathering is held every Thursday at the @4240 building in the Cortex Innovation District (4240 Duncan Ave. @ Boyle) from 3:00pm to 8:00pm. The weekly Venture Café Gathering serves as a physical nexus for helping innovators and entrepreneurs find one another and collaborate to bring their dreams to reality.

These Thursday evening gatherings provide a space for conversations and scheduled programs to inspire a wide range of attendees from around the world to connect. Even in this digital world, it’s important to have a physical space. Shared physical spaces provide common meeting ground and a forum for semi-serendipitous encounters that often foster brainstorming and drive creativity.

Entrepreneurs, engineers, scientists, developers, designers and other members of the St. Louis startup community drop in to chat about what they’re working on. It’s free and open to the public. Attendees are asked to act in line with the Venture Cafe’s Community Credo / Guidelines.

First-year MBA candidates are already into their third week of orientation and participating in a student networking event with alumni and staff to develop confidence in presenting a “personal pitch” to establish professional relationships as well as identify areas for improvement prior to the start of the recruiting season.

MBA Networking Event

The mock networking session is part of the Communication@Olin collaboration that includes the Weston Career Center, Management Communication Center, Graduate Program Office and the Critical Thinking and Impactful Communication course (MGT5314), taught by Dr. Jackson Nickerson and Cathy Dunkin. Several networking activities and professional development (ProDev) sessions are built into MBA orientation and first semester.

Tuesday, February 24 marked the kickoff for the Ellevate Speaker Series. Ellevate, previously known as 85 Broads, is a global professional woman’s network that is dedicated to the investment and engagement of women in business. President Liza Seiden, along with Vice Presidents Emily Pipes and Carly Krasnoff, founded the Washington University Ellevate Chapter this year.

A group of actively engaged women gathered to hear Kelly Ainsworth, Strategic and Counterparty Risk Manager at Wells Fargo Advisors, share her professional development timeline and advice.

Kelly earned her undergraduate degree in English Literature at the University of Michigan. She earned her JD/MBA  at WashU. Despite little experience in the field, Kelly went to work in IT, an industry that is highly male dominated. In 2008, she moved into financial services, even without a background in finance.

With a diverse career storyline, Kelly explained that she never felt the glass ceiling restriction. She successfully built her own brand and developed negotiation techniques through a strong story and knowledge of her worth. Kelly emphasized that the most important aspect in advancement is to believe in yourself. No matter what happens, there is always a learning experience. Failure is an opportunity to learn and grow.

Kelly left us with six keys to success:

1. Learn to network, and realize that it is for mutual benefit.
2. You don’t have to have the answer; you just have to have the ability to find one.
3. Have a plan, but be flexible. The plan will change, and you may be offered something you’ve never contemplated before.
4. Success is not linear.
5. Feedback is important to receive and give; it is a gift.
6. Believe in yourself and stay true to who you want to be.

This wisdom is extremely helpful in empowering and building confidence in students. Many worry about the uncertainty of the future. While it is great to have an idea about where you’re going, it’s acceptable to change your mind along the way.

Maxine Clark

We want to thank the WashU Ellevate group for inviting Kelly Ainsworth to speak. Be sure to look out for the next speaker in the Series; Maxine Clark, founder of Build-A-Bear Workshop, will be coming in on Tuesday, March 31st at 5:30 pm in Bauer Hall 210 N.

Group Photo by Margaret Muir.

Many dynamic and inquisitive women gathered on Tuesday, October 28, 2014 in Holmes Lounge for the twelfth anniversary of the Composing a Life Panelist Event. Five powerful women from diverse backgrounds shared their stories, insights, and advice on how to create and balance a successful life after college.

Stephanie Krauss, a senior fellow at The Forum for Youth Investment, clarified that life is complicated and messy. Despite dropping out of high school, she obtained a General Equivalency Diploma and started attending Palm Beach Atlantic University at age 16. After graduating at age 18, Stephanie began teaching at Teach For America. She founded and led Shearwater Education Foundation, a nonprofit organization focused on re-engaging disconnected youth in St. Louis. Stephanie emphasized the importance of networking and intentionally building relationships. She provided us with three pearls of wisdom:

1. Know your personal narrative
2. Look for trail markers along the way
3. Be well-trained and courageous

Born and raised in China, Jia (Holly) You described her academic pressures and international integration difficulties. In the Chinese society, students are expected to do everything right and have to “compete for everything.” She moved to the United States when she was 27 years old and received her Masters of Law from Chicago-Kent College of Law. Holly was willing to work any job and started as a file room cleaner at Armstrong Teasdale LLC. She eventually became the youngest promoted partner in the firm. Holly instructed the young women to “be brave and truthful to yourself.” She explained that we each have a choice in the people we work with, and it is important to select partners who will help create synergy.

Many students related to the next speaker. Dr. Kimberli McCallum had no idea what she wanted to do in college. She recommended that students “reach out for opportunities even if they are not in their comfort zone” because the extra steps will help you go farther. Unfortunately, Kimberli had an extremely large educational debt, but she deferred her loans to go to medical school. She received her MD from Yale and completed residency in psychology at UCLA. During this time, she directed her focus on eating disorders. In 2002, Kimberli founded the McCallum Place Eating Disorder Center. Concluding her story, she encouraged us to “find our passion and to not be afraid to think outside of the box,” strongly emphasizing the importance of not taking “no” for an answer.

Jami Ake, Senior Lecturer in the Interdisciplinary Project in the Humanities and Assistant Dean in the College of Arts & Sciences at WashU, explained that where she is today is a result of a combination of accidents, luck, and choices she made that were not part of her original career path. Despite not wanting to be a teacher like her father, or a social worker like her mother, 25 years later she is involved in both. In graduate school, she started volunteering to support survivors of violence, and in doing so, she developed a passion for promoting anti-violence. Her advice is to have a plan, but not to tie your identity to it; “you’re not a failure if you aren’t doing what you set out to do.”

Growing up in with a single, working mother, Rhonda Adams planned to go to a college that would offer her a full scholarship because she did not want her mother responsible for her education. She attended Jackson State University with a full ride to study computer science. Rhonda began working for Caterpillar and ended up holding five different roles. She became extremely involved in her work and success, ultimately developing a passion to ensure minorities and women receive opportunities to grow their own businesses. After moving to St. Louis, she became the executive director of Mid-States Minority Supplier Development Council. Her personal insights included:

1. Purpose your passion
2. Make your passion profitable
3. Know the importance of networking

The knowledge and real-life experiences of these inspirational women provided a framework for young women to balance their future goals, plans, and lifestyles. We greatly appreciate the time these women invested to share their insights. In addition, we thank the Women’s Society of Washington University for hosting this wonderful event. To learn more about the Women’s Society of WashU and watch the video of the  Composing a Life Event, please visit: http://stream.nts.wustl.edu/R141028002/ .

Photos by Mary Butkus.

The final session of “Summer Fridays with Skandalaris Interns” will be held this week on the topic of “Trends in St. Louis Entrepreneurship.”  The panel discussion on Friday, Aug. 1 begins at 2:30 p.m. followed by a reception at 4 p.m. Please register at ideabounce.com and you will receive a reminder with directions and a FREE PARKING PASS.

This week’s panel includes:

• Chris LeBeau, Director of Service Delivery, Gateway Venture Mentoring Service (GVMS)
• Sutton Lasater, Chair, Youth & Collegiate programs, Prosper Women’s Entrepreneurship
• Andrew Winship, CEO, Juristat. Juristat was an Olin Cup finalist and winner in both the St. Louis Startup Challenge and Arch Grant competitions
• Matt Burkhardt, 2014 Skandalaris intern, senior in the School of Engineering & Applied Science, and working this summer on his own venture, IDEAL Tap, founded as part of IDEA Labs, bioengineering design and entrepreneurship incubator founded in 2012 at Washington University to tackle unmet needs in healthcare delivery and clinical medicine

The interns hosting the panel discussion are Alana Dresner, junior at Olin Business School, interning at Kansas City Sluggers Baseball; Evan Stroh, junior at the School of Engineering, interning at Click With Me Now; and Sophia Keskey, junior at the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts, interning at Arch City Defenders.

Planning continues for a busy fall, welcoming our new Managing Director, Emre Toker, as well as a new class of first-year students and introducing them to a full slate of Skandalaris programming including Third Thursday Skills Sessions and IdeaBounce® events, First Friday Coffee with the Experts, and the Olin Cup and YouthBridge SEIC business plan competitions!

Also coming this fall: the inaugural winner of the Suren G. Dutia and Jas K. Grewal Global Impact Award will be announced.