Mary Elliot welcomes the hundreds of students who attended the Symposium
Think of a time where over 450 college students are in one place. You may have thought of a football game, perhaps you thought of graduation, you could have even imagined the cafeteria during lunch. More than likely you did not think of a Women’s Career Symposium, an event whose purpose was to provide insight from a group of individuals who have committed their careers to the advancement of women in the workplace, but we do things a little differently here at WSU. Thanks to the dedicated hard work of alumna Mary Elliot, the event had a huge turnout as well as an extremely distinguished panel of professionals.
The panelists were:
:• Trevor Gandy, SVP Chubb, Deputy Chief Culture Officer
• Amy Kendall, SVP Chubb Branch Manager, Cincinnati
• Vonny Carrington, VP Financial Counseling, Ayco/Goldman Sachs
• Mary Elliott, SVP, Chubb, Retired (WSU alumna)
• Courtney Burke, Vice President, Talent Acquisition and Early Career Program
The moderator for the event was also extremely distinguished, Julie Nugent, VP & Center Leader at Catalyst Research Center for Corporate Practice.
Moderator Julie Nugent asks the panelists a question.
The event provided men and women, students and faculty, and community members a terrific chance to meet the individuals who have made great leaps for gender equality in the professional workplace. Following the panel, there was a Q+A session, which provided the opportunity for participants to ask questions they had formed during the panel that had taken place prior.
This event perfectly highlights the slogan of Winona State University: “A Community of Learners Improving Our World,” however for this specific event, I would like to make one revision to our beloved slogan. “Winona State University: A Community of Learners Improving Our World, Together.” Only together can we stand up against inequality in the workplace, whether it has a basis of sexual orientation, gender, or race. The WSU Women’s Career Symposium exemplified the value of resiliency, career and personal passion, and of course, the importance of equality in all branches of life.