H-ton Virtual Enterprise Execs Participate in Leadership Conference

Nine Huntington High School Virtual Enterprise company executives were invited to participate in the Winning Women’s Leadership Conference sponsored by the Osaic Foundation at Deloitte’s corporate offices at 30 Rockefeller Center in Manhattan.

“The Winning Women Leadership Conference is an early career development program for student leaders enrolled in the VE program,” said Bryan Outsen, a Huntington High School business teacher who oversees the Virtual Enterprise program. “Students had an opportunity to engage with and learn from inspiring women business professionals about the skills needed to develop successful careers.

Huntington’s nine student participants in the conference were among 93 female Virtual Enterprise executives selected from 25 different schools through the Northeast region.

Joining Mr. Outsen on the trip was fellow business teacher Suzi Biagi along with student executives Emma Gutierrez, Mia Molina-Baptista, Grayson Dunn, Samantha Muller, Grace Oliva, Jolie Weinschreider, Grace Gordon, Vincenza Garofalo and Mablin Maldonado.

Conference sessions of the day included:

• Leadership Coaching

• Business Leadership Panel

• Professional Networking Lunch

• Mentorship Roundtables

• Student Reflections

Panelists included Kristen Anderson (Partner, Deloitte), Jodie Buenning (Principal Strategist, J. Buenning Strategies), Jaime Desmond (COO, Ladenburg Thalmann Asset Management), Lauren Horbal (Principal, Deloitte), Stacy O'Keefe (Senior VP of Advisor Engagement, Community & Experience, Osaic) and Rita Robbins (Founder & President, Affiliated Advisors)

“All panelists discussed their pathways to success in the business world; how to overcome obstacles as women along the way; and how the soft skills that students learn in VE are vital to achieving success in the business world,” Mr. Outsen said. “Many of our students were able to obtain contact information from the panelists via LinkedIn or email in order to use as a reference later on in their professional careers.”

The mentor roundtable discussions also proved to be particularly valuable and popular. The roundtables included 21 professionals from various businesses available to work one on one with students or in small groups on leadership exercises. The professional positions held by the mentors ranged from financial advisors, audit and control managers to business development directors, vice presidents of marketing and human resources, product managers, senior consultants and more.

“This was truly a great way for our female executives to see firsthand how the skills that they are learning in Virtual Enterprise translate not only into real world skills, but also into real success in business,” Mr. Outsen said.