What do you need to move your career forward? At the Towson University Professional Leadership Program for Women, we coach participants on how to advance their careers in a variety of ways. We ask participants to Know Yourself, Share Yourself, and Give Yourself so they can better move their careers forward.
Alumni of the program recently shared what they learned that has helped them advance their careers.
- Finding a community of passionate, committed professional women that encourages me and provide resources and introductions that open doors for me
- Increasing my self-confidence by better appreciating my strengths and skills
- Recognizing that success in my next position does not require that I have already demonstrated my abilities to perform every aspect of the role and responsibility
- Gaining tools to increase my effectiveness in communicating within and throughout my organization
- Understanding how to communicate and offer my value to my organization and community
- Connecting with mentors and being bold in asking for support
As a result, 25 program alumni have advanced their careers during and after participating in our program.
For program participants, the journey begins with the application process, where they must identify their professional aspirations and challenges. The journey continues during the course of the program where they focus on and embrace existing strengths. This enables participants to boldly seek opportunities to work in a space where her passion aligns with her organization’s mission and vision.
Realizing how much participants value building relationships with each other, the program has expanded to include monthly social gatherings to which all current and past participants are invited. These gatherings have been successful and allows for meaningful connections between current participants and alumni from each class. They also invite this ever-growing community to events and fundraisers hosted by their respective organizations. Our community is robust and growing!
As part of extended professional development, we also include program alumni on our panels. This provides greater insight into the longer impact of the program on their careers and showcases the individual expertise of our talented and accomplished women.
The Towson University Professional Leadership Program for Women hosts prestigious speakers from the business, government, and non-profit communities as well as from the TU community. Many of these speakers have gone on to act as informal or formal mentors for program participants.
For our 2018 cohort, we provided opportunity to more closely explore the #MeToo movement. Women shared individual experiences in advancing gender parity in the workplace and discussed how data demonstrates the business case for diversity and gender parity in leadership positions at all levels.
The richness of the community that women have built through the Towson University Professional Leadership Program for Women is a shining example of how women bring thoughtfulness, continuity, opportunity, and maximum value to initiatives in which they participate.
Do something significant for yourself and your career. Apply to be part of the 2019 cohort.