With the election just passing, there is much discussion and debate about what leadership is and isn’t. The definition is different depending on who you ask, as one’s definition is based on a multitude of factors which make us all individually unique. Therefore, the only thing that is certain is that there isn’t a constant as to what defines leadership. Hence, all looks of leadership are important to honor.
A little more than a year ago, women’s clothing brand The Limited launched its “The New Look of Leadership” campaign that “embraced female empowerment and celebrated the various faces of leadership.” After replying to an open casting call, I was selected as one of 35 women in its Chicago-area campaign. Being recognized and selected as a leader was nice of course, but meeting and developing relationships with women from various cultural backgrounds, professional industries and across various life stages were the much greater gifts.
Women in this campaign included CEOs, art directors, non-profit leaders, teachers, writers, advocates, entrepreneurs, police detectives, doctors, attorneys and industrial designers among many other professionals. While we all demonstrated clear differences, we also shared similarities as well. One key similarity is that we all felt passionate about things that were important to us. These passions ranged from helping the homeless get back on their feet and helping women build their professional network to growing the tech community in the Midwest and helping philanthropists create their legacies.
In many ways, the women I met in this campaign remind me of the community at Notre Dame. A 2005 alum who has been working at the University for almost three years now, I have met a number of students who are leaders in their own right. I am happy that six of them will be featured Monday night as student models in a dress for success event co-sponsored by The Limited, Notre Dame Women Connect, The Morris Inn and Notre Dame Career Center. I hope that you will join us in celebrating not only these six student leaders but also the importance of having many looks of leadership.
“Leading Looks Like: from the Campus to the Office and Beyond” will be held Monday night at the Morris in, with check-in at 6:30 p.m. and the event starting at 7 p.m. Free raffle prizes and desserts will be served, and the event will go until 9 p.m.
Jetaun Davis
marketing program director
Office of Outreach and Engagement Recruitment
Nov. 11
