| Above, Left to Right: Heather Maietta; Jen Caissie; President Townsley; Jean Jones Harger; Katrina Moore |
Nichols held its third annual Women and Business event on campus November 17th entitled “Navigating Challenges and Triumphs.” Four panelists offered words of wisdom on career challenges for women, including: Nichols College President Debra M. Townsley; business owner and past Nichols trustee, Jean Jones Harger; Attorney and Oxford Selectperson Jen Caissie; and Director of the Africana Center at Tufts University Katrina Moore. This year, the Nichols Women and Business committee is chaired by Heather Maietta, director of career services.
President Townsley stated that her own educational journey got off to a bumpy start. She married at 19 years-of-age and began work as a secretary. She realized that the only difference between her boss and herself was a college degree.
With determination, Townsley set a goal to be the first generation in her family to earn a degree and paid for college with scholarships and savings. “By the time I finished school, I realized that it was a real privilege to have a college degree,” she said. “Only 33 percent of the population in the U.S. has a bachelor's degree.”
Townsley's career started at IBM, then at Booze Allen Consulting Services. She finally switch track to become a faculty member. “Education was nice,” she said, for balancing her professional career with her personal life and the demands of motherhood.
“On graduation with my doctorate, my friend told me that education can never be taken away from me,” remembered Townsley. “When you earn it, you earn it for life.” After she came to Nichols College as the Academic Dean, she was named president within six months.
President Townsley advised students to embrace change and to live each and every day to its fullest.
Go Beyond Average…
Arrive to work a little early and leave a little late, you’ll establish yourself as someone who is committed and hardworking. Take pride in your work no matter the task at hand or who is evaluating it. Remember to spend time each day away from your desk building relationships with colleagues and co-workers. You can accomplish this by volunteering for projects, committees, and additional trainings. These are just some of the ways to add value to the company, and to yourself. The reward will come back to you two-fold. And lastly, take the time to take care of yourself. It takes a lot of energy to be excellent all the time! - Submitted on Behalf of Career Services
Be Assertive…
It took me a while after I graduated from college to build the confidence I needed to be assertive in the workplace.
Two factors were working against me: 1) I think many facets of our culture teach females when they’re growing up not to speak up for themselves and 2) I thought speaking up at work would cause confrontations and conflict. Thankfully, I learned that this is not the case.
Being assertive is far different than being aggressive. Assertive behavior does not cause conflict because, by definition, assertiveness is meant to be respectful and to take others’ opinions into consideration. Assertion is constructive; it creates an opportunity for open discussion, and thus a win-win for all parties.
I challenge you to practice this in everyday life so you can master it at work. Managers respect and seek out employees who are assertive and know how to properly advocate for their department, their clients, etc. Work becomes a much more enjoyable place when you walk in the door each day with confidence. Try it – I think you will agree! - Submitted on Behalf of Kristy Cullivan
Be reliable...
Do what you say you are going to do when you say you are going to do it.
Don't get involved with the rumor mills/ office gossip - be someone your manager/supervisor can trust!
If you get upset - don't let them see you cry - go take a break or go home, but don't deal with a work situation when you are emotional - step back from the situation and deal with it after you have your emotions in check. We are women with monthly hormonal issues, we are bound to get emotional sometimes, but I believe it is very important to not have those emotions seeping into the office - deal with it when you can be rational! - Submitted on Behalf of Colleen Colles