Women in business and tech mixer

Senior business administration majors Janelle Robinson, Mary (Katie Miller), Marie Shepherd, Prof. Karen Popovich, Megan LeCours, Megan Robinson, and Prof. Xinting Zhen meet up with alumnus Erin Flaherty ’12 in Logic Supply’s headquarters in South Burlington. (Photo Angela Irvine)

A group of Saint Michael’s students and faculty from the Business Administration and Accounting Department on January 31 visited Logic Supply, a global industrial PC company focused on hardware with its headquarters in South Burlington, for a “Women in business and technology” panel and networking mixer.

The event offered a unique look at one of Vermont’s fastest growing technology companies — and one that employs several alumni. The Saint Michael’s visitors got a tour of Logic Supply’s global headquarters in South Burlington and had an opportunity speak directly with members of the Engineering, Product Management, Operations, Marketing, IT and Sales teams.

The senior women students from Saint Michael’s who attended the event:  Mary (Katie Miller), Marie Shepherd, Hayley Craddock, Megan LeCours, Megan Robinson, and Janelle Robinson. Alumni employees at Logic Supply include James Watson ’12, Erin Flaherty’ 12, Peter Pikulski ’09, Kelly Lucier ’05 and Christian Kleiner ’17.

The networking event was organized by Ingrid Peterson, Saint Michael’s director of career education, along with faculty members Xinting Zhen, assistant professor, and Karen Popovich, associate professor, both from the Business and Accounting Department. Joining the group too was Angela Irvine, the College’s director of advancement programs.

“This is a rare opportunity for college students, or those considering a career in technology to ask your burning questions to professionals eager to provide answers and insight into this growing field,” said Popovich.

Peterson said the partnership between Saint Michael’s faculty and her Career Education Office “will only help students in their career path as active partners in our students’ journey to Life after College.”  Professor Zhen said it was a great opportunity for her as a new faculty member to see the relationship with Career Education and faculty. “It was really exciting for me and it was a great opportunity for our students to learn outside the classroom,” Zhen said.

Popovich said the “powerhouse” panel for the recent networking visit included Lisa Baril-Groeneveld, co-founder/owner and chair of the board; Patricia Houston, director of information technology; and Sara Mellinger, director marketing.  Each woman offered their insights on entering the workforce, work/life balance, and “imposter syndrome.”

Student Marie Shepherd ’19, from Townsend MA, described what she got out of the visit. “What a great opportunity this was – it was great to be included in the conversation,” Shepherd said.  Megan Robinson, ’19, from Clifton Park, NY, said the networking event “was a great opportunity to make women feel confident within the business world and take chances they normally wouldn’t think about.”

Mary (Katie) Miller, ’19 from Mercersburg, PA, said she took a lot away from the discussion about “Imposter Syndrome,” a term that describes how women frequently shy away from employment opportunities in which they might not fulfill each prerequisite exactly. “Rather than go for it and apply, we learned that often women do not believe they are qualified or deserve the employment position, while men frequently apply with a ‘can-do; mindset. Until we women establish this can-do mindset, we are enabling, rather than dismantling, the patriarchy, and we are disenfranchising ourselves,” Miller said. “This conversation has actually empowered me to apply for my ‘reach’ employment position with a can-do approach, when before this discussion, I was going to take it off my job list.”

Angela Irvine (St.Mike’s director of advancement programs) said she appreciated the advice from the panel that focused on finding mentors and finding professional organizations to network and learn.

Janelle Robinson’19, from Clifton Park, NY, ended her night networking by handing out a few resumes. “It’s nice to see a company like Logic Supply that embodies a friendly culture and strong values like Saint Michael’s College,” she said. Thanking the hosts from Logic Supply. “I am so grateful to have met some wonderful people and ask questions about my future career!” she said.

About Logic Supply (from the firm’s marketing materials): “Logic Supply is a global industrial PC company focused on hardware designing highly-configurable computers engineered for reliability. Our systems operate in the harshest environments and power innovation in the evolving Internet of Things. Fueled by a unique direct-to-customer business model that combines vertical integration, modular product design and a powerful online platform, we offer computers ‘designed to last, built to order, and delivered in days.’ Founded in 2003, we’ve helped more than 70,000 customers find their perfect computing solution. Logic Supply has offices in the United States, The Netherlands, and Taiwan.”