Ohio Northern University welcomed back to campus five distinguished alumnae on April 11, 2024, for the fourth annual Women in Leadership event. Representing ONU’s five colleges, the alumnae shared personal stories about their professional journeys and offered career and leadership advice.
ONU President Melissa Baumann, Ph.D., moderated the insightful panel discussion on topics ranging from work/life balance to dealing with workplace obstacles. At the conclusion, ONU recognized outstanding female student leaders for 2024 who were nominated by their professors, deans, and coaches.
The alumnae participants were:
Nichole Cover, BSPh ’98, Director of Pharmacy Affairs, Walgreens.
Shaniqua Crawford, JD ’15, Senior Director of People Services, Legacy Health Portland.
Sandra Reid, BSBA ’86, Vice President of Corporate Communications and Strategic Planning, Davey Tree Expert Company.
Amy Nagy, BSCE ’98, Partner and Senior Project Manager, EMH&T, Columbus.
Rachel Kantosky, BM ’06, BS ’06, Epic Booster Project Director, Broward Health, Fort Lauderdale.
Cover advised students to “never stop learning” and “always ask why.” The chapters of your life may not unfold as you envision, and that can be a good thing, she said.
She never would have imagined she’d end up working with boards of pharmacy throughout the Midwest on regulatory matters, she explained. However, she’s happy with her career direction. Her final advice: “Continue to do the right thing even when no one is looking.”
Crawford, a black female attorney, spoke about encountering unconscious biases in the workplace. She responded to an audience member’s question on the best way to deal with male attorneys who don’t believe you deserve a seat at the table.
“Be confident, be an advocate for yourself, and use your voice,” she said. At Legacy Health in Portland, Ore., a large nonprofit healthcare system, Crawford oversees employee relations, labor relations, HR legal compliance, and an HR answer center.
She recommended that women interested in leadership positions find mentors and “sponsors.” A sponsor, she explained, is someone you aspire to be like who is willing to help you grow and develop to their level.
Crawford also advised audience members to “be of service to those around you” because that’s a trait of true leaders. Finally, she told students not to worry too much about their future paths because “it will all work out for your good.”
Reid, who has worked at Davey Tree Company since 1986, building its marketing and communications function from the ground up, noted that “it’s OK to fail.” While painful at the time, failures lead to the best life lessons. She added, never let fear of failure keep you from trying new things.
Nagy, a civil engineer who works in commercial private site development, advised, “Be yourself and own it.” When she was a female engineer just starting out in a male-dominated industry, people were always offering opinions on how she should dress and conduct herself in the workplace. When she stopped listening, she found success and joy.
“It took me a long time to finally realize I’m going to be me. I’m comfortable being me, and I can be a competent leader. I’m now one of the youngest female owners of the company. And really, I did it by being authentic,” she said.
Kantosky has worked with executive teams for health systems all over the U.S. to install Epic’s electronic medical records suite (My Chart) and lead organizational change. For three years, she headed Epic’s office in Norway.
She shared her keys to success: “Make sure you are showing up consistently; answer people’s questions; give updates on what’s happening; make good decisions quickly; ask for help when you need it; be open to feedback. From day one, provide value. That’s what makes you leadership material.”
Her last bit of advice to ONU students: “The main point is: you can do and be anything you want to be.”