FINDLAY, OH (WLIO) - A local university held its first-ever conference for female business students, hoping to pave the way for their future success as business leaders. Madison Kenjura has the story.
On Friday, September 8, the University of Findlay held its first-ever Bravely Leading Women's Leadership Conference. The event sought to inspire and empower women in the workplace by highlighting the significance of courage in achieving success, promoting creativity, and overcoming obstacles.
"We realized that we don't have any great resources like this in the community in Hancock County. So, we wanted to provide that for our colleagues, people in our network, and other women who just found us online and were able to come and gather insights and participate today," said Kaylee Schleucher, Reineke & Roush Financial Planning COO.
Highlights of the conference included inspiring keynote presentations, interactive workshops, networking opportunities, and access to valuable resources for continued growth.
"For the most part, we wanted to pick topics that were more challenging than the average women's leadership content. I think we did a good job of that and then slotted our speakers into what made the most sense for them," said Chloe Crowther, associate director for the Marathon Center for the Performing Arts.
The workshop aimed to empower businesswomen with tools to enhance their leadership and influence in their communities.
"I had the opportunity to sit through a break-out session about crucial conversations. Which, I think, is going to help in my personal life as well as in the workplace. Having those tough conversations that may be a little uncomfortable, whether it's with friends, family, or other relationships in your life, or applying it to the workforce when you're working on a team or anything like that," said Gracie Clement, a marketing student at the University of Findlay.
All students and professionals gained insight on how to support and uplift their female colleagues, inspiring attendees to share the tools that have helped them succeed in the workforce.
"Bravery. Across the board, the importance of mentorship, finding a mentor, and connecting and networking," commented Kirby Overton, Dean of the College of Business.
"Conferences like this just let me know that I'm not alone. There are other females in the workplace, or other females just in general, that feel that same feeling when going into a room where they might not feel comfortable. But, just working through some of the exercises to gain that confidence and having the tools and resources to kind of push that imposter syndrome to the side. A lot of that comes down to just being prepared and being really knowledgeable about anything that you're speaking on or anything about the topic of the room that you're entering," stated Annika Liebrecht, advisor at Edward Jones Financial.
The Bravely Leading Women's Leadership Conference was a resounding success, selling out quickly. The University of Findlay plans to bring it back next year.
