Local High Schoolers Attend Future Women in Business Conference

Women currently fill less than 17 percent of executive roles -- a number the Smith School is looking to change, starting with young women in high school.

On Friday, Nov. 7, 2014, the Office of Undergraduate Programs and Smith School Women’s Society at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business hosted the Second Annual Future Women in Business Conference.

Young women from Albert Einstein High School, Charles Flowers High School, Howard High School, Largo High School, Montgomery Blair High School, and River Hill High School attended the conference to learn more about pursuing a business education.

Designed as a business plan competition, the conference began Friday morning with words of encouragement from Julia Klein ’13. After graduating from Smith, Klein worked at Deloitte Consulting, leaving after one year to launch an education technology startup, CareerPeer LLC.

Her message to the young women: Take risks and pursue careers you enjoy.

“If you wake up and you’re not super passionate about what you’re doing, don’t be afraid to say that you want a change,” Klein said.

Vice Dean Joyce Russell also spoke to the conference attendees, emboldening them to pursue a business education and giving them five reasons to do so:

1. Women’s voices need to be heard. Women currently fill less than 17 percent of executive roles.
2. Everyone needs business skills, no matter what field you work in.
3. Business is a collaborative profession. You can impact the lives around you.
4. You can accelerate your career and move up quicker with a business education. You’ll stand out among your peers.
5. You can succeed and you will be qualified for a successful career after receiving a business education.

Afterward, the Smith School Women’s Society presented the case assignment, tasking each team with designing a marketing strategy to improve Under Armour’s popularity among 13- to 18-year old girls.

The teams presented to a panel of judges made up of Smith students, impressing the judges with several innovative ideas. Some of their suggestions included expanding Under Armour’s sales to more department stores, embracing diverse body types in its advertising and appealing to high school sports teams.

After careful deliberation, the judges announced Howard High School as the winning team, and awarded River Hill High School an honorable mention for planning a dynamic presentation. Every member of the winning team received a prize from Under Armour.

Christina Germano, intern, Office of Marketing Communications