Climbing the career ladder is difficult, but conquering a summit on career skills might make the upward journey a little easier.
As part of the Gamma Delta Chapter of the Lambda Theta Alpha Latin Sorority, Inc.’s founders’ week, the sorority will host their annual Universal Woman Summit on April 16 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Carl DeSantis Building, rooms 1053 and 1054.
The summit will feature workshops on financial independence, personal branding, interview skills, resume building and cover letters. It will also feature a motivational speaker. Students who register and attend the entire conference will be eligible to win a $100 scholarship check.
Although the universal woman is one of the sorority’s symbols, Aliyah Vasquez, senior human development and family studies major and chapter president, said that the summit’s topics are unisex.
“We’ve had guys attend before,” she said. “The universal woman is what we call proud, strong, hardworking and wise. Anything we do that involves that symbol revolves around those ideals. It does seem like it’s geared toward women, but the Universal Woman Summit is just what we call it.”
Vasquez said that because a lot of the sorority’s members are seniors, the sorority decided to focus on career development skills at this year’s summit. In her opinion, career development skills often go overlooked on campus. She said that the workshop on personal branding is particularly relevant to students.
“We’re living in different times, with social media blowing up, so it’s important to know how the way you brand yourself looks to other people,” she said.
Andrea Holguin, senior biology major and chapter treasurer, said that while NSU provides information on career development through services on campus, the summit is a good opportunity to cover a range of career development topics in a single day.
“You could go to the Office of Career Development to get this information, but there’s a difference between learning by yourself and learning with a crowd of people who have the same goal in mind,” Vasquez said. “It’s a little more collaborative and engaging and better for networking.”
At last year’s summit, Holguin attended a panel of women who work in different professions.
“It was cool to hear their perspectives as women in high positions in their fields, and it was great networking,” Holguin said.
Vasquez said that the chapter doesn’t gear itself toward a particular field.
“We’re not all bio majors, finance majors or business majors; we do a little bit of everything,” she said.
Vasquez said she hopes the summit allows people to see that sororities are more than what meets the eye.
“We’re working from the ground up,” she said. “We’re not all about image and what’ll make us look attractive to the student body. We’re worried about what our mission statement is.”
Registration for the summit is free, and lunch will be provided. To register, email Vasquez at av652@nova.edu.
LTA Founder’s Week
April 12: Informational noon-1 p.m. @ Commons 123
April 13: Race to the Beat 8:30-10:30 p.m. @ Flight Deck Pub
April 14: Breaking the Barriers 8:30-10:30 p.m. @ UC Pit
April 15: Salsa Night 8-9:30 p.m. location TBA
April 16: Universal Woman Summit
Photo Credit: A. Vasquez
