MURFREESBORO,
Tenn. — MTSU junior Caitlin Couch was thrilled to join a select group of
her classmates recently to hear first hand from women business professionals
about their career and life journeys as well as the challenges and
opportunities that await Couch and the next generation of leaders.
Couch, a
marketing major from Hendersonville, Tennessee, was among the 50-plus female
students invited to the second Rutherford ATHENA Leadership Forum held Friday,
March 31, at the MT Center off Middle Tennessee Boulevard.
Couch,
who is also double minoring in business administration and public relations,
said she’s participated in such leadership training events throughout her life
and viewed the forum as another opportunity to build upon that foundation.
“Those
have been very influential in my life and shaping who I am and building my
confidence for leadership,” she said. “I love going to these kind of events and
am grateful to be able to meet other women in the community that are really
making a difference … it’s a great honor.”
Jones College
of Business Dean David Urban, who is teaching a Dale Carnegie course this
semester in which Couch is enrolled, invited top students such as Couch as did
department chairs within the college. Launched last year, the forum connects
undergraduate and graduates students with established women leaders within the
Rutherford Cable women’s leadership group.
“The
partnership between Jones College and Rutherford Cable goes back several years
now and it positions our best students with some of the most accomplished
business leaders in this region,” said Urban, who noted the forum’s funding
support from the Jennings and Rebecca Jones Foundation.
“We
think it’s an important connecting event for our students. Really, our students
can never get enough interaction with real-world business professionals who can
help our students based on their experience.”
The
forum included a roundtable workshop with Rutherford Cable members on topics
such navigating social media and researching potential employers.
Couch,
who previously interned at Butler Music Group and will be interning this summer
at Lifeway with the B&H Publishing Group, was excited to hear from local
Cable members such as Kelcie Daniels of Woodbury Financial Services “and see
where I can be in a couple of years.”
“I’m
open to a lot of things (professionally),” Couch said, “but I really want to do
something that I’m passionate about … I want to love what I do.”
Featured
forum presentations included “Leadership Lessons from My Dysfunctional Career
and Upbringing” by Margaret Morford, CEO of The HR Edge Inc., and “Attitude is
Everything! Professionalism, First Impressions, and How to Sell Yourself” by
coach and consultant Dew Tinnen.
Local
Realtor Cheri Frame, forum committee chair for Rutherford Cable and an MTSU
alumna, said the committee decided to expand the forum this year to include
juniors in addition to seniors and graduate students. Among the forum’s key
objectives is to keep talented emerging leaders in Rutherford County after
college.
“I think
it’s important that we provide opportunities and really show these female
future leaders where their opportunities lie right her in Rutherford County
because we’re a thriving community and we’d love to keep this talent here,”
Frame said.
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