BYU’s Women In Business club is not just for business majors

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BYU’s Women In Business club provides opportunities for women of all majors to increase their capacity for success in life after college.

The Women In Business club will host events throughout the semester focused on teaching women the power of a business education in personal and professional life. Each event includes guest speakers, representatives from local companies and networking opportunities.

Club events include speakers as well as good food.

Katherine Poulter, a senior from Farmington majoring in information systems management, is president of the club and says club participants are surprised to learn how a business major or minor can help them pursue their passions.

“So many of them realized (for example), ‘I want to open my own dance studio, and I did not realize I really need these skills that the Marriott School offers to do that,’” Poulter said. “What the business school offers are skills that enhance your ability to be a better person and a better citizen. So that really can apply to any major.”

According to club members, women tend to avoid a business major because they think it would interfere with their goal to raise a family. To help debunk that myth, club events include introducing members to successful businesswomen who also have families.

Heather Jensen Christensen, a junior from Boise majoring in business finance, is president-elect of the club. Christensen was hesitant about a business major but quickly realized that the major would be a valuable asset both as a career and for her family.

“Business doesn’t mean you can’t be a mom and wife,” Christensen said. “I wish more women would at least take a few more business classes or minor in it because it opens doors. As a mom, you take whatever major you have and you apply it to how you raise your kids to how you do things in the home.”

Christensen said business skills that transfer well into family life include project management and communication.

In addition to learning skills through the Women in Business club, the event provides opportunities for students to network both with each other as well as professors and professionals outside BYU who frequently attend events.

Kelsey Metcalf, a junior from Everett, Wash., majoring in event and venue management, is vice president of activities. Metcalf said she has benefited from her membership in the club. At her first dinner, she made a connection that led to her participation in the Global Marketing study abroad program.

“We ended up going to Russia, Sweden, Denmark, Thailand, China, France and England,” Metcalf said. “That was the opportunity of a lifetime, but it was really because I went to this dinner.”

After Metcalf got involved in the club, she met a local professional at the Dress for Success event.

“I just asked her, ‘Do you have any friends? I need an internship opportunity,’” Metcalf said. “She was doing some events for the City Creek opening at Macy’s, so I got to go help with two fashion shows there.”

More information about the Women In Business club, including membership and events, can be found on the club’s website womeninbusiness.byu.edu.

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