UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Business leaders from a variety of companies and members of both the Penn State Smeal College of Business and greater State College communities will gather March 31 in the HUB-Robeson Center on the University Park campus of Penn State to celebrate diversity at the START Conference.
The conference is organized by a student-run committee that is largely comprised of Smeal students and supported by the Office of Diversity Enhancement Programs. Registration starts at 8:15 a.m. The formal conference gets underway at 9 a.m. It is free and open to all Penn State students, staff, faculty, and community members.
Attendees are asked to register online by Friday, March 18.
START (Striving Toward Awareness and Respect for Tomorrow) is a professional development conference designed to increase diversity and inclusion awareness in corporate settings. It includes network opportunities and workshops on a variety of topics.
This year’s conference starts with an introduction of corporate recruiters:
Ally
Altria
Boeing
Church & Dwight Co., Inc.
Deloitte
EATON
E&J Gallo Winery
EY
Hilton
Johnson & Johnson
Kohl’s
KPMG
PwC
The morning keynote address will be delivered by a representative from Altria.
The breakout sessions will include topics such as/related to:
- EY: Unconscious Bias
- Ally: Being the “only” in corporate America with Q&A Leadership panel
- Boeing: Building Your Personal Brand
- Kohls (virtual session): A Review of the D&I at Kohl’s: Our Pledge for Progress
- E&J Gallo Winery: Telling Your Story, Winning the Job During Recruiting Season
- PwC: Outsmarting Human Minds
- KPMG: Together, For Better, The Importance of Allyship
Anu Saxena, global head at Hilton Supply Management, will deliver the afternoon keynote address. The conference concludes with the 2022 START Diversity Award student presentations.
For more information, visit the START Conference website.