The Women’s Network (TWN) is a national collegiate organization that strives to foster connections between collegiate women and professionals in their desired fields as well as among other women on campus.
First-year Annika Watson, the Colgate University club’s vice president of marketing, explained the club’s role on college campuses.
“The Women’s Network is a national organization that promotes success for college-aged women by connecting them to alumni networks, job opportunities and overall just promoting ambition,” Annika Watson said.
TWN has chapters on over 120 campuses in the United States, Canada and Ireland. Junior Alexa Watson, president of the Women’s Network at Colgate, described how the international character of the network factors into its operations.
“The Women’s Network as a whole hosts events where professionals come and talk to everyone across the club nationwide, but then individual chapters bring in the alumni from our schools and have events with them also,” Alexa Watson explained.
This allows students who are involved in Colgate’s chapter of TWN to not only network and learn from former Colgate students, but also create connections spanning across the country. Despite Colgate being a smaller university, the alumni network is incredibly strong, providing members of TWN with many opportunities and avenues into the workforce.
Junior Olivia Pascione, the vice president of TWN at Colgate, illustrated the impact the alumni network has on gaining access to large corporate sponsors such as JP Morgan.
“What’s been even more impactful at Colgate is our alumni network. Our female alumni love staying connected with TWN, and they’re always eager to mentor, collaborate and create networking opportunities for us,” Pascione said. “I’ve personally helped plan a lot of these alumni events, and they’re some of the most beneficial experiences we offer.”
The events have allowed Colgate students to make invaluable connections with inspirational alumnae.
“I met so many powerful, amazing businesswomen here and at similar events. Every one of them welcomed us with open arms and wanted to help us find opportunities,” Pascione continued. “Events like that remind me just how powerful the Colgate and TWN networks can be — it’s full of successful, supportive women who genuinely want to help the next generation succeed.”
One of the prevailing messages of TWN is the emphasis on cultivating, encouraging and validating ambition in women. Pascione explained the role she sees ambition having in TWN and women in the workforce today.
“Ambition is what drives us forward, and for a long time, women have been told to downplay it,” Pascione voiced. “Whether it’s in the workplace, in leadership roles or even in everyday conversations, women are often expected to be more reserved about their goals. TWN challenges that by not only embracing ambition but celebrating it.
TWN accomplishes its goal of fostering ambition in women through multiple facets, one of which is hosting events and workshops.
“I think a lot of it ties back to the struggle women have had over the past 25 to 30 years to take over fields that were very male-dominated, so there are a lot of STEM-focused events and law events,” Alexa Watson said.
But also, at its core, TWN achieves this goal through the conversations and culture the network in itself creates.
“TWN creates a space where women can own their successes without hesitation and push each other to aim even higher. Seeing other ambitious women in TWN has been a huge inspiration for me, and I think it’s important that we continue creating spaces where women feel empowered to be as driven and unapologetic about their goals as they want to be,” Pascione emphasized.
This ambition and drive has shown itself in the leadership of Colgate’s chapter of TWN. Founded a few years ago, the Women’s Network has been growing and evolving on Colgate’s Campus through the work and determination of its leadership, who have expanded its campus outreach, organized more alumni events and partnered the organization with the Women’s Leadership Council at Colgate.
“[When I first joined the club] Colgate didn’t recognize us — we had a very small executive board, and we did not host very many events,” Alexa Watson reflected. “Since I became president, I got us registered, and I focused a lot on making the organization impactful on campus, so that includes the alumni events and partnering with the Women’s Leadership Council.”
For first-year students, TWN not only provides a forum to grow your professional network and find possible job opportunities but also to connect with upperclassmen and fellow first-years on campus.
“The Women’s Network has provided me with so many opportunities to go to events and network with alumni, but even beyond that, as a first-year, it’s been a really great organization to be a part of because we do so many events like Valentine’s Day card making, movie nights and pizza dinners that have been so much fun to go to and are a great way to meet people,” Annika Watson explained.
But for all students, no matter what grade, the TWN stands out as an organization and provides members with invaluable opportunities and experiences.
“TWN is such an amazing space for anyone looking to grow, connect, and be part of a community of like-minded women. Whether you’re focused on career development, building confidence or just meeting other ambitious people, there’s something for everyone,” Pascione urged. “You don’t have to have a set career path or know exactly what you want to do — TWN is about exploring possibilities and finding inspiration.”
