Diversity Works Expo Brings New Format

Event works to help minority students find work opportunities

The third annual Diversity Works Expo is approaching next Wednesday, Feb. 24, with a new program different from previous years to maximize the experience students receive while attending. 

There will be award presentations, a Diversity and Inclusion Industry Panel and an open expo floor where attendees can network with inclusive organizations. 

All will simultaneously run from 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. in the Williman Room and Parlors B and C in the Benson Memorial Center. 

This event started as a pitch from career development specialist Kristina Kwan who wanted a program where under-represented students could network and interact with organizations, but also to learn more about diversity and inclusion in the workplace. 

The five winners who will be awarded at the beginning of the event have been chosen. 

They had to answer the prompt: “How do you bring your whole self to work and speak to your intersectional experience?” 

Last year’s winner, sophomore Remi Schreder had to answer a similar prompt and recalls speaking about her experience navigating her intersectionality as an engineering major. 

Schreder said that she talked about being half Sierra Leonean, half white and how being a black engineer would help her gain the necessary skill to be in the workforce and to work with others because she is used to navigating two different identities. 

The panelists for the Diversity and Inclusion Panel all can relate to the theme of intersectionality and are willing to share their stories of their experience working in a variety of environments. 

The first panelist is Shriel Deogracias who is a Mentor Program Match Manager at Fresh Lifelines for Youth (FLY), a nonprofit looking to break the cycle of juvenile violence, crime and incarceration. 

The next panelist is Kelli Dragovich who is a Santa Clara alumnus and chief officer at Looker, a business intelligence software and big data analytics firm that helps businesses explore, analyze and share real time analytics. 

The final panelist this year is Dr. Debrah Griffith who is the dean of student equity and success at West Valley College. 

There will be about 20 organizations present for the open expo floor that will consist of four categories: biztech, health and human services, social justice and public service and education. 

Each of the panelists represent one of these categories, which will be prove helpful to students of different majors to see how people in their field have navigated the workforce. 

“We want students to come to this event and think when they see this panel, ‘That could be me,’” Rivera said. 

Kwan handpicked the organizations to include companies that are serious about diversity and fostering an inclusive environment.

“Our focus is not you get a job, you get a job, and you get a job,” Rivera said. “It’s really cultivating meaningful conversation about, ‘What is it like in your workplace?And how do you incorporate these policies, procedures, and programming for underserved employees and how do you actually make that happen?”

Rivera and Kwan want to make sure that underrepresented students are actively researching organizations to find spaces that will support them. 

“That’s what nice about events like this because it helps students be more intentional and meaningful with the work they are looking for,” Rivera said. “Rather than just, ‘I need a job.’” 

Contact Gianella Ordonez at gordonez@scu.edu or call (408) 554-4852.

For more information visit the Handshake page for this event.