The Women in Business club is a brand new addition to Christopher Newport University this year. The President of the club, Maggie Traverse, decided to start the club after she went to the Women’s Stock Pitch Competition and Leadership Summit, a conference held at William and Mary.
For Traverse, the environment was “really empowering,” and she wanted to see something similar on campus.
About 45–50 people showed up for the interest meeting, with the first official meeting earlier this month, on Sept. 12. The interest meeting included a skills assessment workshop with the Center for Career Planning. “[The workshop] helped gauge what kind of careers [students] might be interested in and what steps you need to take to get there,” Traverse said.
In the first meeting, what stood out to Treasurer Shivani Sharma was, “The energy in the room was so palpable, it was so contagious, people were so excited… I think we know that we filled a niche because we could feel it like it was tangible to us.”
Sharma joined Women in Business because she wanted to give back the feeling of support that she received from women last year. She also went to the C-Fund interest meeting last year, and remembered Traverse as one of the only women in the room. She walked in feeling a little intimidated but, “Through talking to [Traverse], I felt more comfortable and knew I wanted to join so it wasn’t a barrier.”
Member Claire Hayden said she joined the club for an interest in owning her own business, adding that knowing other girls were also a part of the group made her feel really comfortable. The club has a goal of connecting its members so that they can help each and form a community.
Some future activities that the club is planning include bringing in more speakers and building out their network. One speaker they plan to have is a Chief Lending Officer from a Credit Union, who will talk to the club about how they can make themselves more valuable to an employer.
The club also plans to do peer mentoring. This program will consist of matching freshmen and sophomores with upperclassmen, so they can give advice and help them think about what classes or major they may want to pursue.
Hayden, who is a sophomore, said peer mentoring was a great aspect of the club for her because it helps her grow connections, and understand how the application process works. “Getting to know about [the application process] is going to be extremely helpful… I feel like it will also help grow the Luter community quicker,” She said.
Traverse explains that the club values community, with one of the goals being to create a community on campus. “I think that when you are part of a community and you feel connected, it makes you more successful,” she said.
Anyone who wants to join just has to go to a quick information gathering session with the Vice President and pay their dues, which are $25. The club will meet every two weeks on Tuesdays at 7:30. Their instagram is @cnu_wib and their email is [email protected]
