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AAUW hosts local Career Night

Susan Shaver talks with local students during Thursday’s Career Night” at the Women’s Federated Clubhouse. The event was hosted by the Marquette Branch of the American Association of University Women. (Journal photo by Christie Bleck)

MARQUETTE — Female college students don’t always have a chance to network with professional women in a single setting, but Northern Michigan University students got that opportunity Thursday night at the Women’s Federated Clubhouse in Marquette.

The Marquette Branch of the American Association of University Women hosted “Career Night: Empowering Women as They Launch,” which served as a mixer for local professionals to give career advice to the students.

“AAUW is all about helping women of all ages achieve — through education, economic security — all sorts of things,” said Leslie Warren, AAUW membership co-chairwoman and dean of Library and Instructional Support at NMU.

The purpose of Thursday’s event was to help students connect with professional women and make them feel comfortable speaking with them in a social/professional setting, she said.

The professionals attending Career Night are or were immersed in a variety of fields, including audiology, plastic surgery, accounting, teaching and law.

Their jobs didn’t always take place in an office or classroom.

Susan Shaver, for example, was the first female asphalt estimator in Colorado.

“I was out there, wearing a hard hat and driving a truck,” Shaver said.

The professionals and students gathered at various stations during the night to discuss the particular questions posed to them at each stop, which included:

≤ What mistakes have you made in your career?

≤ How does being a woman affect your professional life?

≤ What did you set out to do in your career?

≤ How did your path change?

≤ What sparks your interests?

“Career paths change all the time,” Warren said.

Before the discussions began, Warren told the audience: “We do want you to actually get to know each other, especially in an intergenerational way.”

What they learned were things members of the older generation experienced that, it is hoped, aren’t happening today. For example, Shaver told one of her conversation groups that women used to be fired for becoming pregnant.

One member of the younger generation was Taylor Susa, an NMU graduate student who is the AAUW’s student liaison and a vice president on the branch’s membership committee with Warren.

“I hope that all of these students who come here walk away with new connections,” Susa said.

She noted that from her experience, Marquette is a good place to accomplish this.

“There’s a lot to learn from here and there’s so many wonderful women to get to know that I wish I would have had this opportunity years ago when I started my undergraduate here,” Susa said. “So, I’m really excited that there’s so many people and that we are able to kind of bridge the gap between AAUW and professional women and students.”

Kyleigh Sapp, who is studying international studies at NMU, believes it’s beneficial for students, especially undergraduates, to keep in touch with older educated women.

“These are things that aren’t taught in schools, which is unfortunate,” Sapp said.

For more information on the local chapter, visit https://marquette-mi.aauw.net/ or visit the AAUW Marquette Branch on Facebook.

Christie Bleck can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 250. Her email address is cbleck@miningjournal.net.

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