As one of several Employee Resource Groups on campus, the DePaul Women’s Network (DWN) provides a space for women across the university to meet each other, work together and develop new or unique skills. From happy hours to quarterly book club meetings to career development workshops, DWN offers an array of programming for women who want to get more involved.
I was introduced to DWN by attending a book club with a colleague in my department. After coming to a few book club meetings and getting to know some of the women on various DWN teams, I submitted my application and was thrilled to join the Operations Team for the 2017-2018 academic year. The work of the Operations Team was well aligned with my skills and interests, so it was a natural fit. I enjoyed being a team member so much that I then decided to serve as the Director of Operations for 2018-2019. Next year, I plan to continue with DWN as the Vice President.
I love being a part of DWN for many reasons. First and foremost, it’s been great to meet amazing, talented, and engaged women from across the university. DWN provides a sense of community to folks spread out across colleges and campuses. Between bolstering on-campus professional networks and developing personal friendships, the interpersonal benefits of DWN team membership are vast and varied. Finally, joining a DWN team is a great way to develop and practice leadership skills. Roles and projects taken on as part of DWN can help to strengthen a resume, open up a new job opportunity in a different department, or simply nurture a skill or interest not regularly utilized in your everyday work.
Not sure how you can best fit into the Network? There’s a DWN team for a variety of professional skills and interests. Do you like to collect and analyze data while balancing a budget? The Operations Team is for you. Do you enjoy developing and planning unique events? Consider joining the Programming Team! How about writing and website management? The Marketing & Communication team can benefit from your talents. And if you want to help DWN grow while maintaining satisfaction among current members, you can check out the work of the Membership & Engagement team.
If you’re interested in taking advantage of all the great opportunities that DWN team membership has to offer, please consider submitting your application today. We are currently recruiting team members and directors for the 2019-2020 academic year. Applications are due April 5, 2019.
I hope to meet you at one of our awesome events!
Sincerely,
Victoria
Victoria Rivkina is the program manager for the Master of Public Health program and DWN's 2018-19 director of Operations.