San José State students, alumni and mentors joined together for the ninth annual Women In Leadership League Conference on Friday in the Student Union.
The event was led and hosted by Meghna Virick, associate dean of undergraduate programs for the Lucas College and Graduate School of Business, where a panel and breakout group discussions took place.
One of the topics the panel discussed was the effect of artificial intelligence (AI) and how it is incorporated into jobs and ideas.
SJSU President Cynthia Teniente-Matson said the university is trying to reshape the approach on how to use AI.
“What we try to do at San José State is prepare you from a point of orientation, and some of that is around the tools,” Teniente-Matson said. “AI literacy is the understanding of when you use the tools, when you don’t use the tools or how you use the tools.”
Discussions in the panel also focused on purpose, adaptability and career development of leaders.
Rangapriya “Priya” Kannan, dean of the graduate school of business at SJSU, started the conversation with a question about how an unconventional path can prepare oneself for a role.
“Technology is shifting how generations are being perceived, so this is a very topical and tiny conversation for all of you who are in the workforce or plan to enter the workforce shortly,” Kannan said.
The panelists each shared the experiences that made their careers the way they are today.
Madison Huang, senior director of product and technical marketing for physical AI platforms for NVIDIA, gave insight as to why she chose a career in tech when it wasn’t something she wanted to do at first.
“I think I’m ready to go back to teach something much faster moving,” Huang said. “I want to make an impact on the world, and give back to the community that I grew up in.”
Lavanya Gopalakrishnan, senior vice president of customer success for Cisco, answered questions reflecting on her career and how she navigated her leadership role and its challenges.
“It’s taken some amount of reflection to sort of realize that I haven’t really meandered into (my career),” Gopalakrishnan said. “While it wasn’t (my) intention, that I realized I was putting into it subconsciously. I’m gravitating towards care because I feel the need to face things.”
Twenty-five tables filled the room with different topics and mentors for active discussions.
Students and alumni had the chance to select a table of their choice for a 30-minute breakout session with a mentor.
Mentors gave them perspective on industry growth, career navigation and industry expectations.
Some table topics were “Top 3 Strategies For Your Career Growth,” “Top 10 Ways to Differentiate Yourself as a New Hire,” “Confidence Under Pressure: Thriving in High-Stakes Situations” and more.
One table went through the life of mentor Aida Tannous, vice president of human resources and staff development at PremierOne Credit Union, where she talked about navigating life as a first-generation college student.
Another mentor, Mithila Guha, a marketing assistant professor at SJSU, focused on starting conversations about standing out in your job and taking the hardest challenges while creating a sense of belonging.
After three different breakout sessions where attendees got to switch table topics each time, a closing networking session took place where some students, mentors and alumni shared their key takeaways from the breakout groups.
“Everyone is doing their best work through that line of sight from what we do to support students with the student center, to what we do to build our brand and new reputation,” Teniente-Matson said.
