Women’s center begins leadership lunch series

Alumna+Alyson+Van+Hooser+kicked+off+the+womens+Leadership+Lunch+Series+on+Sept.+20.+

Alumna Alyson Van Hooser kicked off the women’s Leadership Lunch Series on Sept. 20.

MacKenzie Rogers, Contributing Writer

The Women’s Leadership Lunch Series is back for the second year in a row, ready to encourage and empower the undergraduate women of Murray State.

Abigail Cox, director of the Women’s Center, said this program offers students an intimate conversation in a smaller group setting.

“I think that we’ve had just so many different conversations and students,” Cox said. “We have some students that come to every single one of them, and every single time they get something different out of it.”

A combined effort between the Women’s Center and the Office of Alumni Relations, the two have worked to continue ensuring students leave the lunches feeling empowered. Seeing these interactions happen is inspiring, said Carrie McGinnis, director of Alumni Relations.

“Anytime you can be around super amazing women in a community and [share] experiences, to me, is valuable for all involved.” McGinnis said. “I get excited to hear them impart their wisdom on these groups of, you know, really engaged and excited young women.”

The Women’s Leadership Lunches take place monthly. The events are free and have a capped limit of 10 students per event. Cox said this cap is in place because engagement is better with smaller groups.

“We want to make sure that when these alumnae either give up themselves via Zoom electronically or take time to come to campus and be in the room that they’ve got a great and willing audience to hear what they have to share.” McGinnis said. “So not only do we want it to be a terrific experience for the students but for the alumnae as well.”

With 80,000 alumni worldwide, McGinnis said she works hard to select alumnae with great personalities and empowering stories to share their wisdom and experiences. McGinnis said these women are ones that even she looks up to.

“I knew they would have good insight into advice for students on how they can capitalize on their time while they’re here at Murray State,” McGinnis said. “I mean, actually finding them is the easy part because they are so excited to do it.”

The series strives to prepare students with much-needed skills for success and leadership in both university life and beyond. Some of the other topics discussed include communication skills, relationship building and self-confidence.

The first lunch of the series has already reached its capped limit, taking place on Tuesday, Sept. 20, with alumna speaker Alyson Van Hooser, a 2010 Murray State graduate. The next two lunches are set to take place on Oct. 21 at 12:30 pm and Nov. 18 at 11:30 am.

The Leadership Lunches will take place on the third floor of the Curris Center.

Anyone interested in attending one of the lunches can RSVP through the Women’s Center monthly newsletter or visit murraystate.edu/womenscenter.