“With support, students know they’re not navigating problems alone, and they feel more empowered,” says Lena Lizunova, an assistant professor of management at the BYU Marriott School of Business who also serves as the faculty advisor for the Women in Strategy Association (WSA). “I think WSA gives strategy students that circle of support—people they can bring their hard questions to, celebrate wins with, and lean on during tough days.”
Strategy student and WSA president Rachel Wasden says she initially felt nervous about applying for the strategy program, but Ben Lewis, an associate professor of strategy and then strategy program director, helped resolve Wasden’s concerns. “He was so busy, but he set aside time for me to visit and talk through my career goals,” Wasden says. “I just felt so cared for.”
While Wasden says she felt support and concern from all the professors in the strategy program, she wished there were more female mentors. Wasden, from Spanish Fork, Utah, says she battled imposter syndrome after being accepted into the strategy program and starting the junior core, but making friends with other women in the program helped alleviate her doubts. Wasden and her friends wanted to build a community where more students in the strategy program could find the same support they had experienced in each other. So, they worked to register WSA as an official BYU Marriott student association.
“The more people and life experiences you can invite into a community, the more well-rounded, knowledge infused, and valuable that community becomes,” says Jacey Robins, a strategy student from South Jordan, Utah, and WSA vice president. “In WSA, we practice creating community through serving others, contributing to students’ professional development, and building members up so they can accomplish great things.”
One goal of WSA, explains Wasden, is to help all pre-business students feel more confident applying to the strategy program. To support that cause, WSA hosted a week-long application prep service for any student wanting help. WSA may have started with the intent to help women, but the association is open to all students who want to join, Wasden says. “A lot of men came to WSA events too, because we had really good application prep,” she says. But Wasden says she was excited when last fall, the strategy program accepted the largest number of women yet.
To help students already enrolled in the strategy program find more friendship and community, WSA hosts events like soda-bar socials and craft nights. Wasden has seen friendships made in the association lead to late-night phone calls asking for advice and social events extending beyond official meetings. Wasden says, “We’re really just a community of students trying to uplift each other.”
Lizunova has seen that community grow as she has worked alongside the WSA presidency. “I've seen some members of the presidency start with doubts about belonging in the program—but their leadership and accomplishments are proof of the extraordinary potential women bring to strategy.” Lizunova says. “A lot of WSA’s impact for students is behind the scenes—quick interview tips, a short pep talk. This kind of impact doesn’t always show up in flashy stats, but it changes individual trajectories.”