The Women In Business Club invites women to learn about business majors while enjoying free food, T-shirts and prizes.
On March 19, BYU’s Women In Business Club will host its second Major Shopping Event. The event will feature guest speaker Sharlene Wells Hawkes, the chief marketing officer for Story Rock, Inc., former Miss America and mother of four.
Attendees will have the opportunity to learn about Marriott School programs, talk to women currently majoring in business, win prizes and get free gifts from organizations that support women in business. Grand prizes include an iPad mini, Kindle Fire and gift certificates to local restaurants.
Sarah Kruitbosch, a junior from Layton, is majoring in business with a marketing emphasis. Kruitbosch went through a few majors before settling on business. A business major offers more flexibility and practical skills than she realized.
“Everything is a business,” Kruitbosch said. “You are either working for a company, or you own (a) company. So you need to know those basic principles. … You need to understand how they work and why they run and how business people tick and what their thinking process is in order to really connect with them.”
Rosie Liddle, a junior from Orem, came to BYU as a chemistry major. Although Liddle enjoyed chemistry in high school, she did not feel the same once she got to college.
Liddle recognized that she only enjoyed the problem-solving aspect of chemistry and looked for a major that would develop those skills. She had friends in the Women In Business club who helped her out.
“They were the ones who helped guide me to find a major that fit really well for me,” Liddle said. “With the problem-solving aspects that I love from math and sciences, I brought those over to business, specifically information systems.”
The Marriott School traditionally has significantly more male than female students, but the school wants to change that. The Women in Business Club’s goal is to let women know that business is an option and that it offers skills that will apply to all aspects of life.
Tina Ashby, manager of women’s initiatives and mentoring for the Marriott school, is a prime example of how a business degree offers flexibility to women. Since graduating from the Marriott School of Management with a business degree, Ashby has worked full time as well as part time, in the office or from home. The career options available to her have allowed her to be the PTA president three times while still pursuing her career.
“(Women) have passions, they have things that they care about,” Ashby said. “Bring all those to the Marriott school. Let us show how you can apply some business skills and make it happen for you.”
For women who prefer to stay home and raise their children, business skills become applicable even as women manage their homes, children and personal goals.
Other women may have a major that they love, such as dance or art. Adding a business minor can help those women learn skills that will help them open their own studio.
To register for the Major Shopping Event, visit the Women in Business website at womeninbusiness.byu.edu.
