She’s Daring Mighty Things engages, educates and empowers women at USU

“For hundred of years, we left half the planet out of making decisions, working and doing the kind of problem solving that needed to be done,” said Kristyn Allred, director of She’s Daring Mighty Things.  

 By joining forces and combining the strength of the whole planet, “we’re going to figure out how to help the Great Salt Lake or whatever problem we’re facing,” Allred said.  

 She’s Daring Mighty Things, or SDMT, is a multi-factor initiative to help engage, educate and empower women. By doing so, the global collaboration Allred strives for is possible.  

 The third SDMT Summit will take place Friday, Sept. 15 from 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. Students can register using the QR code posted in the Huntsman School of Business and around Utah State University’s campus.  

 Sui Lang Panoke, senior vice president of diversity, equity and inclusion at Zions Bank, will be the keynote speaker.  

 “When you sit there and listen to her for 30 minutes, you’re going to be very inspired,” Allred said in anticipation of Panoke’s presentation. 

 In addition to Panoke, there will be 20 professionals from across the state who will join students in breakout sessions and talk one-on-one about women in leadership. Some of these professionals are Meghan Knudsen, vice president of Goldman Sachs, and Rochelle Morris, a managing director at RevRoad Capital.  

 Allred said by the end of the summit, participants will have “heard a great keynote speaker,” networked and had breakout discussions with students and professionals. 

 McKenna Rogers, an analytics teaching fellow in the Huntsman School, emphasized the summit’s networking focus in an email to the Utah Statesman. 

 “The SDMT Summit is such a unique opportunity for the students to network with peers, faculty, and corporate partners,” Rogers wrote. “This year, the Summit will be focusing on Women’s Leadership. This is such an important topic to learn and discuss no matter what year the students are in.”  

 Vanessa Richards is a USU student who loved last year’s summit and is looking forward to this year’s.  

“SDMT in general is a wonderful program that truly has made me feel a part of a group that I know will support my endeavors and never let me settle as far as reaching my potential,” Richards wrote in an email.  

The SDMT program consists of more than the annual summit. According to Allred, clubs like Women in Business, Women in Finance and Women in Tech are all part of the same program.  

Since 2018, the first year the program was put in place, the Huntsman School has seen their greatest spike in female enrollment shares in the last 20 years.  

 In 2018, female enrollment shares were 33%. This year, it is almost 38%, according to data provided by Frank Caliendo, senior associate dean and professor for the Huntsman School. 

 According to Allred, about 15% of students in the Department of Economics and Finance are female. In the School of Accountancy, it’s “closer to half.” 

 “Not only do we want to see more women, but we want to see them entering spaces where they might not have been in the past,” Allred said.  

 Even though the Women in Finance and Women in Tech clubs are exclusive for women in those fields of study, the Women in Business club is open to any who are looking to engage, learn and be empowered.   

 The summit will have a limit to how many people may attend, but if any student’s registration is denied, the event will be recorded and posted on the Huntsman School’s YouTube channel.