OWN IT WashU hosted its fourth-annual women’s leadership summit in Bauer Hall on Nov. 10.

The student-run conference is designed to provide young women the opportunity to engage and network with successful women in business, STEM and creative fields.

Courtesy of Deja Henry

Participants in the OWN IT leadership summit gather to network in Bauer Hall Saturday. The fourth annual OWN IT WashU event hosted 16 female leaders to network and engage with Wash. U. students in addition to breakout sessions led by University clubs and faculty.

This year, OWN IT hosted 16 female leaders to highlight the visibility and global achievement of women.

Summit director senior Regina Sterge oversaw the organization of the event. She believes that OWN IT is valuable because it allows young women to hear from other women in high-level positions.

“It is about making connections and representation, but visibility is really important [too],” Sterge said. “Knowing that there are other women who found success and seeing what your degree can do and where you can go from there is really important.”

The key components of the program were four panels held throughout the day. Each one focused on a different field of interest: social impact, STEM, business and creative careers. Each panel was composed of four women who have found success in their respective fields.

During the business panel, Dawn Norvell, a senior buyer for Walmart and Washington University alum, spoke about how her undergraduate years influenced her career trajectory.

“It allowed me to broaden my horizons, but it also allowed me to practice some things that were high-risk, and there was still this environment that wanted me to succeed,” Norvell said.

The program also included breakout sessions, primarily led by clubs and faculty of the University, such as Uncle Joe’s, Sexual Assault and Rape Anonymous Helpline (SARAH) and Associate Dean and Director for Undergraduate Research in Arts & Sciences Joy Kiefer. The sessions covered topics like maintaining a healthy work-life balance, the #MeToo movement and strategies for success in the workplace.

Director of funding junior Kristen Wilder was inspired to join OWN IT after attending the summit as a freshman. According to Wilder, her first OWN IT experience taught her to advocate for herself.

“Talking to people who are in higher-up positions at different companies has made me realize I can do that as well, and you can actually achieve the same things that people who are speaking at these events are doing,” Wilder said.

Courtesy of Deja Henry

Successful women in the social impact field speak about leadership and female achievement.

The event also included office hours where participants had the opportunity to talk to the panelists in small groups for a more personal approach.

Freshman Rebecca Reich said that she appreciated the fact that OWN IT was student-run and featured so many different fields.

“It seemed like a good networking opportunity,” Reich said. “I’m interested in business but I’m in [the College of Arts & Sciences,] so I thought it would be cool to hear the people and learn about what they do because I’m not sure what I want to do yet.”

The public relations director of OWN IT, junior Madeleine Ritholz, said that the event was also rewarding to her personally because it allowed her to see the culmination of months of hard work.

“[My favorite part of OWN IT was] seeing the end result,” Ritholz said. “Today has been really cool to just sit back and see how the whole event plays out and that all of our hard work really paid off. So many people came to the event, great speakers came and it’s really cool to see it all come together.”

Ritholz recommends that female students take advantage of opportunities like OWN IT and network with as many people as possible while they are students.

“You can study so much in a classroom, but I think the human connections that you make and relationships you form will benefit you the most later on,” Ritholz said.