By Josie Loza
The UNO Women’s Studies Department and Advisory Council have joined forces to open doors of opportunity for students at an April 12 “Women’s Studies Career Connections” program.
The free event is designed to bring students together with professional women from the Omaha area to explore potential careers, employment settings and professional networking.
It will be held from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Thompson Alumni Center.
The idea for the program originated from a survey conducted last fall by the Women Studies Department.
About 200 students participated in the survey.
Karen Falconer Al-Hindi, director of women’s studies at UNO, said one of the things that stood out in the department’s review of the survey was that students were interested in women within nontraditional career roles.
So the department and the Women’s Studies Advisory Council decided to form a joint project for the women from the Omaha community.
“We wanted to do something that would connect the women’s studies department with the community,” Falconer Al-Hindi said.
The event will provide a means for students to not only meet with several people, but also to shadow professionals.
“It’s not just getting exposed to one profession and one possibility, but many professions and many possibilities,” Falconer Al-Hindi said.
At the event, students will get the chance to spend time with each professional. The luncheon program will begin with introductions, then students will break away into small groups of one to three students and a professional. They will travel to the professional’s agency and shadow them for the afternoon. Lunch will be provided.
Some of the professionals will represent the following agencies: Omaha Police Department, Douglas County Courts, KETV, El Museo Latino, Mason Video, University of Nebraska Medical Center and Planned Parenthood.
Today is the deadline to reserve a spot for the workshop.
For more information about the event or to submit an application to participate in the event, visit http://www.unomaha.edu/Uno/wmst/resources.html or stop by ASH 307.
In addition to the women’s studies department, the dean of Arts and Sciences, UNO’s Career Center and Qwest Women are sponsors of the event.
