Shattering the Glass Ceiling: Women in the workplace panel

“I need to be in these spaces [the workplace] because I have someone that is another generation, or next year, that’ll be here and needs to understand that they can be in these spaces too,”

On March 23, Career Services partnered with the Office of Multicultural Affairs to host a panel discussion with women who are thriving in maledominated fields.

The panel consisted of four women who were happy to share their experiences in the workplace, their leadership styles and advice for those looking to expand their professional careers.

The panelists included Jawauna Harding, Emily Quinn, Dedra Ibañez and Imani McGill. All are connected to OSU and they are passionate about women feeling like they have a place and belong working in male-dominated fields.

Jawuana Harding, the associate athletic director of OSU, said. “That’s what I have to tell myself as I’m doing this because there’s someone else who doesn’t think they belong here, who absolutely belongs here.” Topics such as negotiating salaries when it comes to getting jobs, overcoming self-doubt and advocating for yourself were discussed. Moderator Ramya Chandrashekar, career coordinator for diversity, equity and inclusion, asked the women crucial questions, leading a discussion where viewers were able to learn from them.

See Glass on page 7

TikTok star James Droz attends Cowgirl softball 5-0 victory

nior shortstop Kiley Naomi, catching Gajewski’s eye.

“When he threw the first pitch I said, ‘Dude, I didn’t know you could throw like that. He said, ‘Oh yeah. I’ve got more,’” Gajewski said.

The Cowgirls took pictures with Droz and filmed videos with him.

Senior OSU pitcher

Lexi Kilfoyl dazzled on Saturday, pitching a complete game one-hitter to propel the No. 2 Cowgirls to a 5-0 win against No. 22 Baylor. She was not the only orange-clad pitcher showered with cheers at Cowgirl Stadium.

James Droz, a TikTok sensation with 1.3 million followers, attended the game and threw out the ceremonial first pitch. A Bartlesville native, Droz makes popular sports reaction videos often asking losing teams ‘What happened?’

“We were in the presence of greatness,” coach Kenny Gajewski said. “It was awesome. He gave me a sweatshirt. He’s a cool dude.” Droz fired his pitch near the strike zone to se -

“I’ve always wanted to meet him and do a video,” freshman left fielder Tallen Edwards said. “Like, this kid is TikTok famous and when he was on the field I was like, ‘No way.’ It was really cool to get to meet him.”

Kilfoyl said she knew Droz’s signature catch phrase — “What happened?” — and enjoyed the day.

“It’s really cool to see him come out here,” Kilfoyl said. “Such a small world. A big famous guy like that coming out here to our game.”

Droz gave Gajewski an orange sweatshirt with Droz’s phrase on it.

“He’s a really nice young man,” Gajewski said. “Great family. Hopefully he’ll come back.” sports.ed@ocolly.com