On the night of the Villanova Men’s Basketball team’s home opener, I did not expect to be in attendance at a professional development event. Yet, there I was. I found that the Presenting Opportunities for Women (POW) Conference, put on by the Women in Business (WIB) club at Villanova University was incredibly informative and engaging. I am honored to be a guest blogger on “Backpack-to-Briefcase”, one of my favorite blogs, and I hope to enlighten you all on why this was a crucial event that I recommend to everyone to attend next year. Thankfully, I was still able to make most of the second half of the basketball game after this event!
POW took place on November 7 in the PwC Auditorium in Bartley Hall. The theme of the event this year was “Paving the Way to Success: How to Maintain Your Individuality While Balancing Professionalism, Your Relationships, & Life.” The keynote speaker of the evening was the CEO of Lilly Pulitzer, Michelle Kelly. She discussed the brand’s history and the career steps she took to get her to where she is today. I thought that Michelle was incredibly engaging and hearing her story was helpful. I thought it was interesting to hear about her experience at Lilly Pulitzer because it is a different perspective on a business job than one typically hears about. Being the CEO of a major corporation is obviously a very challenging job, but Michelle said that it is all worth it because she enjoys what she does, and her values align with the company’s values.
After Michelle spoke, a panel of five women from different business fields spoke to us. I thought they all had insightful things to say, and I enjoyed hearing their different perspectives. The panelists were: Alicia Antonetti-Tricker, Meaghan Bedigian, Lindsay Costigan, Trina Kadakia, and Karoline White. Meaghan, Trina, and Karoline are all VSB alums, and I especially enjoyed hearing what they had to say, knowing that they were exactly in my shoes at one point in time. The business field can be heavily male dominated at times, so it is always nice to see successful young women holding their own.
If you are a woman at Villanova, I highly recommend looking into the Women in Business club. They present great opportunities for women and are helpful in preparation for the business world. The Presenting Opportunities for Women conference is typically their biggest event of the year, and I will most likely attend it next year as well. I thought that this was a valuable professional development event, and I gained a lot from hearing from Michelle Kelly, and the five panelists.
Grace Mattimore 
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