By: Omar K. Elmore, Staff Writer
Founded by alumna Katherine Buchanan ’16, Wofford College’s Purple Scarf Society is a student-run organization that provides professional development for female students. PSS puts on a four-week program wherein women who have participated in the past offer practical advice to navigating the professional world to new participants.
On Wednesday, Feb. 22, the Purple Scarf Society held its opening session to raise awareness of its goals and show how the four-week program works. The Marketing Director of the society, Kathleen Hughes ’19, praised the opening session and its attendance.
“We had a great turnout,” Hughes says. “There were a ton of freshmen there, which is great. The interest really starts there because those are the women trying to decide what they want out of the professional world.”
Hughes, who attended the program last year, especially appreciated Dean Wallace’s speech at the event, calling it “empowering and inspirational.” Hughes attests to the value of such interactions.
“The best part of the program was when they taught me how to answer the ‘tell me about yourself’ question,” says Hughes. “That is the hardest question to get, especially before you have had practice marketing yourself properly.”
This year, the program runs through the month of March. Hughes, who oversees all social media and promotion of the group, looks forward to the different sessions of the program which she planned with the other executives of Purple Scarf Society: Lauren Phillips ’17, Sarah Wilson ‘18, Adelaide Dunn ‘18, and Mary Katherine Linn ’19 who serve as Executive Director, Networking Coordinator, Event Coordinator, and Small Group Leader, respectively. The itinerary culminates in a large networking event which allows the women a unique opportunity to sell themselves to real professionals.
“We actually get to go make connections with career women in the workforce here in Spartanburg at this event,” says Hughes. “In the past, this event has landed girls different internships and jobs as they actually put in practice what they’d been learning for the month.”
The program is designed to appeal to all majors and minors, and utilizes small groups to enable an experience tailored to fit the needs of everyone involved.
“Purple Scarf Society’s value is incredible,” Hughes says. “Tailoring this kind of development to young women can tackle the unique challenges of being a female in the professional world. The skills learned here will always be useful.”