Students who attended last night's Career Lab at Huntsman Hall made some important contacts at elite business firms - all with a dash of feminine spirit.
About 50 female students gathered in a Huntsman Hall classroom yesterday evening for the Forte Foundation's first Career Lab at Penn.
Forte Foundation - an organization formed in 2001 and committed to "inspiring women business leaders" - began the Career Lab Program in the fall of 2005. The program aims to educate female undergrads about career opportunities and success in business.
"This program's purpose is so noble," Forte marketing coordinator Rachel Bidegain said. It "provides women with business contacts and resources."
The event kicked off with a question-and-answer session by a panel of women at different stages in the business world.
Two Wharton MBA candidates, second-year Jordan Bookey and first-year Catherine Marsella, and the Managing Director at Morgan Stanley, Elizabeth Vale, answered questions like "How do you balance your career and your passions?" and "What is business to you?"
Following the panel, two separate sessions took place, during which speakers talked about various sectors of the business world, including financial services, consulting, entrepreneurship and consumer packaged goods.
College junior Kristal Mentis-Cort said she enjoyed this part of Career Lab the most.
"If they're going to get some great people to come and talk to you, you might as well go," Mentis-Cort said. "I got a lot of really great advice."
Gemma D'Auria, a senior associate at McKinsey & Co., detailed a day in the life of a typical consultant, while Forte Director Mariska Morse argued against the "misconception that business is boring."
Almost every speaker commented on prejudices and problems of balancing work with family life, issues which many professional women face.
Vale emphasized that, no matter what, women should avoid quitting their jobs altogether.
"If you got a big brain, or at least a reasonable one, don't blow it," Vale said. "Don't depend on that man."
College junior Natasha Chavdaroff said she attended the event because having mostly female guests "seemed less intimidating."
