Women-centric clubs host Networking Night

The Society of Women Engineers (SWE), Stevens Women in Computer Science (SWiCS), and Stevens Lore-El Programs hosted “Networking Night” at the Lore-El Center for Women’s Leadership, an event with a simple, fundamental concept according to SWE Vice-President Namankita Rana: “This event was planned to be a major networking night where the e-boards, alumna, and general bodies of the major women-centric clubs would have an opportunity to mingle and interact with each other, opening doors for more opportunity down the road.”

Stevens Women in Business (SWIB) was originally included in the initial planning, but only SWE, SWiCS, and Lore-El Programs were involved from start to finish. Zoe Millard, SWiCS Vice President and one of the event coordinators along with Rana and Michelle MacLeod from Lore-El Programs, was responsible for identifying and sequestering recent Stevens alumna for the event. Using her connections within Alpha Phi Omega and Theta Phi Alpha, Milliard found three women that were more than happy to contribute. She noted that it was difficult to find recent Computer Science alumna. “Of course it was easier to identify engineers,” said Millard, “but there are only a handful of women in Computer Science, which was definitely a challenge.”

The recent alumna included Katie Brown ’17, Rosa Mellilo ’15, and Jonell Watson ’14, all of whom are currently working, with Brown now pursuing a Master’s degree in Systems Engineering through the 4+1 Program. Attendees hailed from each of the three organizations in roughly equal numbers, and despite the lack of a CS alumna, Millard was confident that all information would be applicable in some way, given that it is common to “deviate from one’s major over the span a career.”

After guests arrived, the alumna and attendees engaged in a “speed networking” activity, during which Rana and Millard asked a series of questions to which the guests all responded. Questions touched upon mentorship, “dream jobs,” and the motivation to engage in the networking night.

“I felt as though my experiences at Stevens would be very applicable for [these women],” said Brown, overheard while speaking to a smaller group of women. Watson and Melillo, who come from a Mechanical Engineering background, were seen distributing business cards and encouraging the attendees to contact them with any questions they might have in the future.

The event closed with a Compass One catered dinner and the announcement of the night’s raffle winner. For Millard and Rana, the event was a success. “We’d never seen this type of event before with all of the women groups in the same room for the purpose of networking,” said Rana. “We thought this would allow for a different comfort level.”

Millard was impressed by the interactions between the alumna and undergraduate students. “Seeing how hard it was to tear people away from their conversations was really a measurable sign of our success,” said Millard. “All of our alumna told me they had so much fun and would love to come back to any future networking dinners.”