AnnMarie Growney grows through DEIB, Professional Selling event
The Multicultural Business Scholar has a new mindset as she enters her senior year.
During the spring 2021 semester, the business school’s Professional Selling and Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) Programs organized the first Purposeful and Professional Enrichment Excursion (PPEE). The purpose of this virtual professional development event was to increase awareness of the importance of diversity and professional selling, and the intersection of these two concepts.
The event incorporated keynote speakers about DEIB and personal selling, breakout sessions with various employers, and a networking opportunity for all participants.
AnnMarie Growney recently completed her junior year at KU, where she is both a member of the Multicultural Business Scholar Program and a participant in the Professional Selling Program. For Growney, the PPEE event helped her to articulate her reason for studying business and pursuing many of the enrichment and development opportunities for which she finds herself involved.
“I learned the importance of knowing your ‘why’ before entering any type of career [and] branding yourself and having a drive and purpose for everything that you do,” she said.
During the breakout sessions, Growney and her peer scholars also witnessed first-hand the sincerity with which the represented companies have conversations about diversity, promote inclusive initiatives, and recruit a diverse group of students. Other breakout sessions allowed employers to give their input and advice about selling yourself and the sales industry at large.
Growney and her peers used the final hour to meet one-one-one with employers in breakout rooms to network, discuss diversity and inclusion efforts, and learn more about the sales industry.
AnnMarie says she has a new mindset entering senior year as she begins to look for full-time jobs. She is reflecting upon her ‘why’ and is seeking a career where she can “do good in the world while embracing diversity.”
