Anna O’Hara -Women Entering Business
What do you hope to accomplish through your organization?
O’Hara: Our goal is to help business students prepare for the work force by becoming better leaders, gaining great experience, and building resumes. We are working to do this by providing seminars on resume building, LinkedIn, dressing professionally and preparing for interviews.
We believe that our club is not only for business students but any major who will one day work in a professional setting or interview for a job.
What are you doing to ensure you continue to grow and develop as a leader?
O’Hara: We have created boards within our organization. It is our goal to create a wonderful experience now, while also gaining experience and resume building opportunities for the future.
We have created a finance board, a marketing and communication board as well as a programming board. It is our goal that students from SXU will join our boards and gain valuable leadership skills from this experience.
What impact, if any, has social networking had on your organization?
O’Hara: We have a Facebook and Twitter page, be sure to follow us!
What are the core values or mission important to your organization’s mission?
O’Hara: Our mission is to support personal and professional development by providing a network of interaction with fellow colleagues, alumni, and influential business professionals.
What kind of events do you have in store for the semester?
O’Hara: We have an event this Monday, October 5th at 1:00 in the Shannon Center, room 148. The event will be on personal branding presented by a senior manager from Deloitte.
We also are planning on having dressing professionally events, LinkedIn seminars and resume building programs this semester.
Next semester we plan on having a presentation with recent graduates of the Graham School. As well as a self -defense class.
How would you describe the culture or the mindset of your organization?
O’Hara: The culture is all about what the SXU community wants, we are here to serve. We have a very open mindset we want to hear from you. What do you want from us? We are all here to create and have a great experience, while working and learning to prepare ourselves for the future job field.
Describe your organization in three words or pitch it like you’re on a infomercial, what can potential members expect?
O’Hara: We are here to help you network with fellow students, faculty, professors and the community. We hope to give students the opportunity to gain valuable information through presentations, seminars, and the community members that are here to mentor us along the way.
We are here to help you conquer the opportunities and challenges you are faced with on a daily basis and in the future.
Anna Goldman -Feminist Club:
What do you hope to accomplish through your organization?
Goldman: We hope to promote and further communicate the notion that women should be afforded equal opportunities to men.
What are you doing to ensure you continue to grow and develop as a leader?
Goldman: Active listening. The Feminist Club is comprised of strong, intelligent, passionate people. At this point, many have life experiences that I have not shared; listening allows me and our leadership group to understand the experiences of others and to incorporate those into the Feminist Club’s vision and activities.
What impact, if any, has social networking had on your organization?
Goldman: We have a Facebook page and Twitter account. These allow us to communicate messages consistent with the purpose of our organization and to promote our meetings and activities.
What are the core values or mission important to your organization’s vision?
Goldman: The core value of our organization is equality.
Our mission statement is: “A feminist is defined in the Merriam-Webster dictionary as an advocate of women’s rights on the grounds of political, social and economic equality to men. The belief that women are and should be treated as equals to men remains an area of controversy. Feminism, by its nature, embraces so many values held at SXU, including the belief that all people should be afforded equal opportunities and not, by virtue of gender, be relegated to a position of service or subservience to those of another gender. This organization is intended to educate our campus community about feminism, promote gender equality and diminish the negative stereotypes that accompany the word ‘feminism’.”
What kind of events do you have in store for the semester?
Goldman: We plan to host speakers to discuss issues related to feminism and to foster dialogue at our meetings. We also plan to attend the movie Suffragette when it is released. We currently are deciding among other activities and welcome input. Please join us!
How would you describe the culture or the mindset of your organization?
Goldman: Our culture is one of open dialogue. The label of feminist has been misconstrued, resulting in a negative connotation. Our club does not advocate that men and women have to be the same, that women must distance themselves from men or that men must be brought down in any way.
Equal opportunity is the key. And much work needs to be done to get to that point.
Describe your organization in three words or pitch it like you’re on a infomercial, what can potential members expect?
Goldman: Feminist Club in three words: Advocates for equality. Potential members can expect an open, inclusive environment where all may share their experiences and views regarding the social, political and personal status of women and men at SXU, in our broader community, and in the world.
Guadalupe Avila & Yuritza Arroyo-Sanchez MSPJ
What do you hope to accomplish through your organization?
Avila: MSPJ’s purpose is to spread awareness of social justice issues to the student body centered on the University’s principles and especially the critical concerns of the Sisters of Mercy.
Arroyo-Sanchez: I hope to accomplish many things through Mercy Students for Peace and Justice (MSPJ). Since this is a social justice organization I hope to raise awareness about social issues such as immigration, poverty and non-violence.
What are you doing to ensure that you continue to grow and develop as a leader?
Avila: I am constantly attending conferences and workshops that demonstrate how to enhance my skills as a leader not only in a University setting but also in the community.
Arroyo-Sanchez: Growing up, I have always been a shy, reserved person so before I began my freshman semester here at SXU I made it a goal to be more social and involved in organizations. One of the previous board members saw my potential and told me to apply for an MSPJ position.
I immediately applied for the immigration coordinator position since immigration is a social issue that I am passionate about. Many of my Latino brothers and sisters have been separated from their families over a broken immigration system and I am a strong believer that the first step to stopping this injustice is by learning about it and then getting people to talk about this.
My public speaking anxiety is something that I have to face every time that I step into the bus and have to inform students about immigration and deportation. Slowly I am overcoming this fear and luckily the other MSPJ board members are there to help me out and ensure me that I am doing a good job.
What impact, if any, has social networking had on your organization?
Avila: With social networking, we have been able to reach a substantial amount of students through our FaceBook page. It has definitely served as a huge impact I’ve noticed not only for our club but for others as well.
Arroyo-Sanchez: Social networking has made it easier for us to spread the word about our events. Many times, students show up to our events because they saw our posts on Facebook so getting extra people through social media helps a lot!
What are the core values or morals important to your organization’s mission?
Avila: Important values to our club include voicing the student’s perspective on different issues that affect us all as human beings living on earth such as the environment or racism.
Arroyo-Sanchez: We are an organization based off of the Sisters of Mercy’s critical concerns (poverty, denial of human rights, the degradation of earth, the increase in violence and racism, the continued oppression of women, the abuse of children, the mistreatment of immigrants) so one core value that is very important to us is social justice.
What kind of events do you have in store for the semester?
Avila: Our most popular event is the prayer vigil done in Broadview. There, students learn of the immigration system through prayer, history, and life experiences. Another upcoming event will be an Open Mic Night where students will be able to cast their talents.
It will take place at the Regina Residential Center on Friday, October 23rd at 7:30pm. The purpose of the night is to collect as many newspapers as possible to later donate to animal shelters located in the local Chicago area.
How would you describe the culture or the mindset of your organization?
Avila: I would have to describe the mindset of the club as an open and welcoming environment to seek and promote change in the world.
Arroyo-Sanchez: MSPJ’s mindset is that of equality. We strive to include everyone no matter their sex, gender, sexual preference, social class, race/ethnicity, religion, physical/mental disabilities, etc. All that matters to us is that one is trying to make a positive difference both inside and outside of the SXU campus.
Describe your organization in three words or pitch it like you’re on a infomercial, what can potential members expect?
Avila:Perseptive, Inspirational, & Motivating
Arroyo-Sanchez: Tired of all the injustices in this world? Want to make this world a little better but don’t know what to do? Then join MSPJ! We work on many social issues such as immigration, poverty and non-violence!
The first step to making things better is by learning about them! The second is by spreading the word about these injustices! If this interests you please contact Yuritza Arroyo at arroyo-sanchez.y01@mymail.sxu.edu
Jorge Pliego CSMCA:
What pushed you to come up with the concept for this organization?
Pliego: It all started my freshman year. I knew I wanted to go into marketing and communication because I had previous work experience with Pepsi Co. along with Lurie Children’s and a corporation that focused on governmental facilitating within the state of Illinois.
And I kind of knew from those experiences that I wanted to bring to the students of Saint Xavier University the opportunity to better themselves through marketing events or the campaigns of the different organizations on campus. It would be something impressive to add onto their resume and not only that but it would give them early experience with marketing, advertising or communications.
What do you hope to accomplish through it?
Pliego: The big goal is for all student organizations to be linked through communication, and helping the organizations on campus, if they wish, with promotions. The reason why I created this organization is to get that early exposure in marketing and communications even if it’s just on campus.
We have our resources right here. We are very lucky to have a lot of student involvement at Saint Xavier University and it will be great to use that opportunity to help our members. Right now we hold partnerships with Women Entering in Business and Financial Management Association.
What are you doing to ensure you continue to grow and develop as a leader?
Pliego: A great mentor once told me that “Before you move in anything you have to be sure about yourself before you take anyone on board.” I’m very grateful to have a great support system and a drive to bring change. A lot of people have ideas but you have to acknowledge that you do have this idea. What are you going to do with it?
What impact, if any, has social networking had on your organization?
Pliego: The wonderful thing about the era that we live in today, which is primarily influenced by social media and technology, is that it’s easier to get your message across. It’s just very beneficial for students who wish to join CSMCA.
What are the core values or mission important to your organization’s mission?
Pliego: It’s all about unity. CSMCA advances our scholars in advances our scholars in the opportunity of growth with in marketing, but also integrates communication, because of its importance in every career pathway. Our scholars practice innovation on campus grounds while bridging marketing and communication.
What kind of events do you have in store for the semester?
Pliego: The first event will be the Ground Break. It’s going to be an introduction of Collegiate Scholars of Marketing and Communication Association. It will introduce our board members along with our advisor and give our members an idea of where we want it to go.
Because the organization is new we do want to inform our members of what we want to do. We’re also going to present our website. We made a website platform for CSMCA in case any outside entity or any organization here on campus wants to get in touch with us it’s just very easy to go to the site and make a request of CSMCA presentation of website
How would you describe the culture or the mindset of your organization?
Pliego: Scholarly, professionalism, networking. Our mindset now is setting the foundation of this organization to make sure in upcoming semesters everything is well grounded. I would also say that it’s very ambitious and very responsible. We’re just making sure everything’s correct right before we launch.
Victoria Morales- Model United Nations:
What do you hope to accomplish through it?
Morales: The MUN (the Model United Nations) plans to accomplish many things. We want our members to be educated in the ways of the world. We hope to bring awareness on the real U.N. issues.
What are you doing to ensure you continue to grow and develop as a leader?
Morales: We are all leaders in our organization and we try to encourage each other to take strong positions on our global issues. We all support each other when we have something to say.
What are the core values or mission important to your organization’s mission?
Morales: The Model United Nations program prepares students to take on the role of diplomats from a foreign country in a simulation of United Nations committee meetings. Students become experts on particular global issues and then meet with other “diplomats” representing countries around the world to write resolutions.
These resolutions address a variety of global problems. Students gain skills in research, writing, public speaking, and negotiation
What kind of events do you have in store for the semester?
Morales: We have a lot of events planned out. We haven’t decided whether we might have a murder mystery party, a mini fall festival and maybe even a bake sale! We also want to raise money to make a difference in the world.
How would you describe the culture or the mindset of your organization?
Morales: We have a lot of fresh new faces this year so everything is pretty calm and relaxing, last year we were a quirky bunch with a lot of personality! We are waiting for our new member to feel at home before we unleash our fun tomfoolery.
Describe your organization in three words or pitch it like you’re on a infomercial, what can potential members expect?
Morales: The Best Organization. We are very fun and open even though we do discuss serious issues. We know how to have fun!
Zhana Johnson
Senior Features Editor