The Women’s Business Leadership Center (WBLC) seeks to guide women toward their professional careers by providing opportunities and enriching experiences.

Patricia Johnston, WBLC executive director, said the most substantial service the center provides is delivering a support system for women. 

“It’s elevating women and girls in Arkansas and beyond,” Johnston said. “Particularly in our university but also high schools and junior highs throughout the state, wherever we can help.”

Johnston said the WBLC helps women by forming mentor groups, creating student-led projects and organizing outreach programs. In addition, the WBLC operates two semester-long programs, Step Up in the fall and Reach Back in the spring.

About 50 students and 50 professional mentors form mentor groups for the Step Up program. In this program, small groups of students and mentors meet and discuss academics, life and career opportunities to set students up for success.

For Reach Back, WBLC members create projects to support women and the campus overall. Johnston said the WBLC is working on projects to support the food bank, give flowers to women for Women’s History Month, and speak at high schools.

The WBLC partners with organizations both on and off campus for outreach and networking. Partnerships include FedEx Women in Leadership, Girl Scouts of the United States of America, Women’s Foundation of Arkansas, Scarlet to Black and the Forté Foundation.

Kathy Loyd, WBLC founder, said she created the center following discussions after speaking at the 2016 Women’s Leadership Conference.

“The key component was establishing a mentor program so there would be professional women working with the students to encourage, guide and support their journey through the university as well as once they graduate,” Loyd said. 

Loyd moved from North Carolina to help develop the WBLC and officially launched the center in 2017. 

Zoreonta Moore, a senior business administration major from Charleston, Missouri, said the WBLC has taught her professionalism and how to navigate her career. Moore said she joined the WBLC because it caters to the community and the women in it.

“Being part of the WBLC gives you a family away from home,” Moore said. “The mentors are very professional, caring and sincere.”

Himani Vidhani, a graduate student from India studying applied digital technology, said she has been involved in the WBLC for almost two years. She joined the WBLC following a recommendation to join from her adviser.

“(The WBLC) helps women learn how things work in the corporate world and even helps them grow in their personal life,” Vidhani said. “For me, as an international student, they have really helped me build up my confidence.”

Students from all majors can join the WBLC. Johnston said  some students have received jobs and reported higher pay thanks to the skills they learned as members of the WBLC.

“I think everybody who goes through the program can report greater confidence and that is huge,” Johnston said. “I’ve had students who freshmen year won’t even look at me and by senior year they’re president of a club or speaking in public.”

Students interested in joining the WBLC can fill out an application on the Women’s Business Leadership Center page on the A-State website. The WBLC began accepting applications in March and will continue accepting applications through April.

New hires will work as leadership interns. Men or students who want less involvement but still want to help will be hired as ambassadors. Positions in the WBLC are unpaid.

Moore said she plans to give back to the WBLC after she graduates. 

“Once I get to where I’m headed, I plan to give back the same way that the mentors gave to me through scholarships, advice and giving the raw, uncut version of who I am and how I became who I plan to be,” Moore said.

The WBLC office is in Room 115 in the Neil Griffin College of Business. The organization can be contacted at wblc@astate.edu.

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