The newly created chapter of Broad2Be at Tufts held its first conference entitled "Broader Business Views" yesterday.
Four of the six all-female panelists at the conference were Tufts graduates, and the other two currently have daughters enrolled at the University.
The panelists spoke about balancing work and private life. Tina Adolffson, director of Strategic and Financial Planning for Global Blades and Razors at the Gillette Company, who is not married and has no children, said that competence and reliability in the office is the best way to earn the right to spend more time on your personal life.
Catherine Marenghi, the president, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and founder of Marenghi Public Relations, said that as a single mother she has found it very hard to find a balance in the business world, which led her to starting her own company.
Working while raising children or balancing other areas of your personal life is "a very hard thing to do," she said. "You have to make really hard choices all the time."
Juli Ann Reynolds, president and CEO of the consulting firm Tom Peters Company, said the most important thing in business is keeping a sense of perspective and priority. She raised two daughters while working and said that raising her children was "the most fun job I've ever had."
Reynolds also said she disagrees with the perception that it is necessary to be aggressive to get ahead in business. Business relations shouldn't necessarily be thought of as aggressive - rather, the level of trust between people carries the most weight.
"Have a great sense of humor, and know when to use it," she said.
The alumni panelists also spoke very highly of their experience at Tufts. "People out there hiring, they know Tufts," Laura Olton, an Associate Counsel at National Grid and the General Counsel to Narragansett Electric Company, said.
The Narragansett Electric Company is a public utility company based in Rhode Island.
Olton said that many of her friends who pursued a variety of majors at Tufts ultimately decided to pursue a career in the business world, and are now "doing very well in their field."
Adolffson said that Tufts graduates are able to go beyond balancing the pros and cons and are "often very good with coming up with a decision."
Tufts is an "incredibly respected place to get an education," Adolffson said. She praised the school for providing a great place for students to explore and have lots of new experience, abroad as well as on campus.
Marenghi also said she chose to enroll at Tufts over Harvard University because at the time she was applying to college, Harvard "didn't encourage a year abroad."
Tufts' international focus and the developing Experimental College were enough to convince Marenghi to attend Tufts.
Though she implied that schools should not be chosen by reputation, she admitted that employers, including herself, are influenced by the caliber of an applicant's education.
Gretchen Duhaime, Senior Financial Analyst at Leerink Swann & Co., said her Tufts education "certainly gets me in the door."
This, she said, is partly due to the strong alumni presence at Tufts. Because of its medium size, Tufts has alumni in a wide variety of fields who are excited to meet a fellow Tufts graduate.
Duhaime also said that Tufts alumni seem to be much more active at University alumni events than alumni of other schools.
Broad2Be is the chapter for undergraduates of 85 Broads, a international networking organization founded in 1999 by female professionals at investment banking firm Goldman Sachs.
The Tufts chapter of Broad2Be was founded this year by senior Allysen Hepp. Hepp said she was motivated to found the Tufts chapter because of the large amount of people interested in the corporate world at Tufts, and as a resource for these individuals.
The Tufts chapter allows students to talk to current professionals about finding jobs, applying for them effectively, handling interviews, and to make up for the lack of a major in Finance at Tufts by providing practical knowledge to students.