May 19th, 2021 from 1:00 pm to 6:00 pm 

Oregon Diversity Career Symposium: Own Your Story

An event intentionally designed to help prepare students with marginalized identities on their path from college to career.

Register Here

 

Who Is It For?

We define students with marginalized identities as first-generation students, students of color, women, veterans, non-traditional students, members of the LGBTQIA+ community, students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, international students, students with disabilities, and any other students who have otherwise struggled with impostor syndrome and the implicit expectation that they assimilate to dominant cultural norms, and change who they are to “fit in.”

The first 100 students to register and then attend get a 30% discount code for Nike!

Event Schedule

1:00 pm - 1:15 pm: Welcome

1:15 pm - 2:00 pm: Keynote Speaker

Chabre Vickers, Vice President Community Development Officer, Wells Fargo      

2:15 pm - 3:00 pm: Workshops

Breakout Room 1. What Do I Want, Why Do I Want It, and What Am I Worth? Understanding How My Ethnic/Racial Identity Impact Career Decision-Making and Career Success

Breakout Room 2. Soul Force for the Workforce: Wu Tang, Wu Wei and the Innerworkings of the We and the Way through Networking

3:15 pm - 4:00 pm: Workshops

Breakout Room 1. Your Identity, Your Career: Understanding Identity and Inclusion Branding

Breakout Room 2. Anatomy of a Job Offer

4:15 pm - 5:00 pm: Alumni Panels

Breakout Room 1. Networking and Relationship Building

Breakout Room 2. Being True to YOU and Navigating Imposter Syndrome

5:00 pm - 6:00pm: Networking Session  

Meet and network with employers from the companies listed below

Keynote Speaker

Chabre Vickers

Vice President Community Development Officer, Wells Fargo

Chabre Vickers is the Vice President Community Development Officer for Wells Fargo & Company in Oregon and southwest Washington and leads the company’s community development initiatives and Community Reinvestment Act activities, which support low and moderate-income communities. 

Called “one of Portland’s super-connectors” by Portland Monthly Magazine, Chabre’s passion for community is demonstrated by her advocacy with many organizations where she utilizes the tenets of Critical Race Theory to enhance access and capacity towards tangible social change for the benefit of all. 

Chabre has served as the Chair of the City of Portland Human Rights Commission, and her past careers include work with Portland Community College and Big Brother Big Sisters of Columbia Northwest. She volunteers in her community and serves as a board member for multiple organizations, including the Oregon Symphony, the OHSU Avel Gordly Center for Healing, and the Portland City Club, among others, and is a past Executive Committee Member of the Portland African American Leadership Forum. 

Workshops

Roshni D Lal  - Director of Career Planning & Employer Relations at Marymount California University

The first 20 min will focus on the workshop goals/outcomes. The next 20 min will consist of breakout groups where participants will be given interactive activities based on career exploration, self-assessment/self-reflection, and identity exploration and development as it pertains to career aspirations, life/career influences, and career success. By understanding the current various systemic obstacles and barriers in place for students from marginalized and underrepresented groups, students will be able to engage in self-advocacy and self-empowerment during the career decision-making process and beyond. In breakout rooms, students will engage in: answering self-reflection questions, storytelling, and information sharing. After the presentation, students will be able to engage in meaningful and intentional discourse during the breakout rooms regarding the three prompts: What do I want? Why do I want it? What am I worth?

Colin Cole - Cohost, Soul Force Ones Podcast, PhD candidate in the Language, Equity, and Educational Policy Program-Oregon State University
Jonathan Stoll - Cohost, Soul Force Ones Podcast, Director, Career Education-Oregon State University

This workshop session Ain't Nothing to F@# With!! JSoul and CCole, co-hosts of the Soul Force Ones podcast present a fresh approach to "Networking" and “Professionalism” that leverages hip hop music (e.g. Wu Tang, 2pac, Queen Latifah, Lil Dicky and KRS One) and theory (e.g Parker Palmer and Yosso’s Cultural Community Wealth) to make, not cash money, but C.A.S.H. meaning: 

Careers and Community,  
Activism and Authenticity,  
Soulforce and Spirituality;  
Hip Hop and Healing (C.A.S.H.). 

Career education has often perpetuated social dominant cultural norms that fail to resonate or engage students with marginalized identities. This workshop offers an alternative to outdated, stale, corporate presentations of “Networking” and “Professionalism” that are underwhelming to all students, but particularly first generation college students, BIPOC students and students experiencing high financial need. 

Matthew French - Founder, Awesomely Authentic

We all hold multiple identities that intersect to make who we are as people and professionals. These can be gender identity, veteran status, country of origin, sexual orientation, race, age and a host of others. Employers are searching for diverse talent who have the career competencies needed for today’s workforce (i.e. critical thinking, oral/written communication, teamwork, leadership and global/intercultural fluency). Creating your career brand can be difficult to pin down with so much information to share. That’s where Awesomely Authentic comes in to help you understand what employers are looking for and how to best integrate your identity with your skill sets.  

Dawn Patrick - Human Resources Director at Zion Ministries

Entry-Level applicants and 1st generation college students have not been educated on what constitutes a good job offer outside of salary. This workshop will provide an outline of what to look for and how to decline if the written offer does not turn meet their personal mission. 

Alumni Panels

It's not what you know, but who knows you. It's not who knows you, but who you know. Let yourself be known. Networking is all about community and relationships. We need people in our corner who have our back; mentors and sponsors who can advise us, guide the way and help open doors. Learn about networking and what panelists wish they knew about leveraging and cultivating relationships. 

OSU - LaToya Kamara Manley ('05) - Global Product Director of Jordan Women’s Footwear, an adjunct professor at Portland State University and the Founder of Goodnight, Friend

OSU - Jonathan Riley ('09) - CEO, Better

UO - Tana Atchley ('00) - Co-Director Network Coordination, Willamette River Network

UO - Oscar Arana - ('03, MBA '12) - Director, Community Development, NAYA Family Center

Learn what panelists wish they knew about finding confidence and faith in the power of their story and experiences while navigating inequitable systems that perpetuate social dominant cultural norms such as whiteness, patriarchy and heteronormativity.  

OSU - Román D. Hernández ('92) - Managing Partner, Troutman Pepper--Portland office

UO - John Braham (JD '04) - UO Law degree, runs national non-profit that supports high school to college, and college to career - https://getschooled.com/

UO - Destinee Scott - Group Media Director, Wieden and Kennedy

Networking Session

Join us at 5:00 pm to connect with employers! Chat with representatives to find out about their company, what it's like to work there, and if there are any job openings. 

Here is a list of the employers attending the Networking Session. 

  • Amazon
  • Nike
  • U.S. Department of State
  • Samaritan Health Services
  • PacificSource
  • Kroger
  • Hoffman Construction
  • E&J Gallo
  • delap
  • Sherwin Williams
  • Tektronix
  • Tandem Diabetes
  • Weiden+Kennedy
  • Bertson Porter & Company
  • Cascadia Behavioral Healthcare
  • City of Portland Bureau of Parks & Rec
  • City Year
  • CliftonLarsonAllen LLP
  • Energy 350
  • Fisher Investments
  • HIV Alliance
  • Kamehameha Schools
  • NuScale Power
  • Oregon Youth Authority
  • Peace Corps
  • PeaceHealth
  • Target
  • TTI
  • UO Career Center
  • U.S. Fish and Wildlife
  • USDA/Nat’l Agriculture Stats Srv.
  • Viewpoint

CHAMPION SPONSORS

Nike

GROW WITH NIKE: The Nike internship program is a critical talent pipeline for Nike. We continue to invest in providing a world class experience for our summer interns. Our interns work on meaningful projects that are part of the business road map, are exposed to multiple teams, and are a major part of our community. Our summer programming provides access to leadership and professional growth workshops to gain meaningful career experience. Located in Beaverton but recruited from all over the world, Nike’s U.S. Internship Program is the ideal opportunity to explore the intersection of all Nike businesses: sport, sustainability, fashion, retail, e-commerce, technology, finance, legal, design and more. 

 

Amazon

Earth's most customer-centric company. 

When Amazon.com launched in 1995, it was with the mission “to be Earth’s most customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything they might want to buy online, and endeavors to offer its customers the lowest possible prices.” This goal continues today, but Amazon’s customers are worldwide now, and have grown to include millions of Consumers, Sellers, Content Creators, and Developers & Enterprises. Each of these groups has different needs, and we always work to meet those needs, innovating new solutions to make things easier, faster, better, and more cost-effective. 


Samaritan Health Services

Samaritan Health Services is a not-for-profit regional health system that brings together community hospitals, physician clinics and health insurance plans to care for more than 250,000 residents of Oregon’s Benton, Lincoln and Linn counties.  Recognized in 2020 as Oregon’s Healthiest Employer for the seventh time, Samaritan is powered by more than 6,000 employees who are dedicated to carrying out our mission of Building Healthier Communities Together.  


Department of State

As the lead federal agency responsible for U.S. foreign affairs, the U.S. Department of State  contributes to foreign policy formulation and to advancing U.S. interests around the world.  Our employees contribute different perspectives, life experiences, and innovative thinking to our mission of serving the people of the United States. Foreign Service Officers and Specialists represent the U.S. abroad at over 270 diplomatic missions. Our Civil Service employees provide continuity and expertise in all aspects of our work at our HQ in Washington, D.C.  We recruit from every field, including IT, engineering, healthcare, federal law enforcement, international affairs, legal, business, management, and public relations. The U.S. Department of State is firmly committed to building a workforce that reflects our nation’s diversity and leverages the creativity of diverse, talented groups to advance America’s foreign policy priorities. To reap the benefits of a diverse workforce, we have built an inclusive workplace in which every employee is treated with dignity and respect and feels empowered to serve the American people. The U.S. Department of State also offers a wealth of student programs, including paid and unpaid internships, study abroad, and paid fellowships. Visit careers.state.gov to learn more. U.S. citizenship is required. An equal opportunity employer.


PROMOTER SPONSORS

 

PURPOSE STATEMENT

The University of Oregon and Oregon State University are teaming up to coordinate the Oregon Diversity Career Symposium in May.

The Oregon Diversity Career Symposium (ODCS) provides a half day of workshops, panels, keynote speaker, and informational sessions intentionally designed to help prepare students with marginalized identities on their path from college to career. While all students are invited to attend the Oregon Diversity Career Symposium, our goal is to create a space that especially empowers students with marginalized identities to explore their identities and experiences within their job search process/development

We define students with marginalized identities as first-generation students, students of color, women, veterans, non-traditional students, members of the LGBTQIA+ community, students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, international students, students with disabilities, and any other students who have otherwise struggled with impostor syndrome and the implicit expectation that they assimilate to dominant cultural norms, and change who they are to “fit in.”

We start with the value of our diverse experiences and where we’re from, and the value of our stories. We embrace the fact that it is not our diversity, but our ability to overcome adversity, that differentiates us.

Program Committee

University of Oregon Career Center

Sara Mason - Job and Internship Developer

Johanna Seasonwein - Associate Director for Employer Engagement

Samantha Lim - Research Interviewer and Recruiter for the Early Growth and Development Study, Prevention Science Institute

Kyle Santos - Career Readiness Coach

Colleen Lewis - Events Coordinator

Ixchel Verdugo - Executive Assistant

OSU Career Development Center

Lauren Dodd - Director of External Relations

Valerie Ferguson - Event Coordinator

Elizabeth Simmons - Internship and Employment Developer

Jonathan Stoll - Director of Career Education

Special thanks to:

Kaitlyn Ayonon, Maya Harrison, Emma Larkins, A Philanda Moore, Ciera Nguyen, Suzanne Philips, Teresa Tran, the OSU Alumni Association, and the UO Alumni Association.