When Diana joined Women in Business just one semester ago, she was determined to not let her shyness limit her. The driven marketing major completed all of her requirements in her first semester, and originally joined the Alumnae Relations Committee. Although she enjoyed being their newsletter writer, she wanted to explore something related to her major, and is now part of the Marketing Committee.
As Co-chair of marketing, Diana’s main responsibility is making sure everyone is on the same page, so that her team can work together efficiently. She organizes socials, monthly committee meetings, and team building activities. Diana loves to find new ways to keep all of her committee members engaged. She makes sure to catch up with her committee members weekly, to ensure that they all stay on track with their goals as a committee. Diana likes to keep the girls on their toes by asking each one of them, “What are your current goals for your role in the Marketing Committee?”
Being a Co-chair has made Diana value leadership and responsibility. “At the end of the day,” Diana says, “We have deadlines to meet, and if those deadlines aren’t met, then we aren’t working in a great way towards our organizational goals.” She knows that these goals cannot be met unless everyone in her committee works together. She tells her committee members, “This is a sisterhood. I want us all to be BFF's. You don’t have someone to each lunch with? Come on, let’s eat lunch together.” Although she said she wants her relationship with her committee members to be very personal, she doesn’t want it to be “clique-y.” “I want us to be friendly amongst other committees as well,” she explains, “I want everyone to feel comfortable and welcome, that way people work harder because they want to.”
The upper Junior truly loves Women in Business, and everything it stands for. She doesn’t just see strong independent women, eager to empower one another, she also sees a group of people who continually inspire her. She recalls WIB’s recent Pink and Denim Day, where she says, “You literally saw a sea of pink and denim…all of us uniting for such a great cause was really motivational.” Diana is also impressed with how organized everyone in WIB manages to be, considering everyone in the organization has many other responsibilities in their lives as well. Diana says, “We wouldn’t be so successful if we didn’t have a team of such strong, hard-working girls that dedicate their time to such a hard-working organization.”
Diana wants all prospective members of Women in Business to know that this organization can help you grow not only professionally, but personally as well. WIB has helped the once shy Diana, become a leader with exceptional communication and public speaking skills. She says that induction isn’t just “you’re a girl, ok let’s go. It’s do you have the values (hard-working, dedicated, driven) that it takes to be a member of Women in Business?”
Diana’s advice to current WIB members is: “If you want to increase your presence within WIB, you have to put yourself out there. Don’t be afraid. It’s easier said than done to not be shy, but the more you just step outside of that comfort zone, there are so many things you can achieve…Just being kind and friendly to everyone can get you so far.”