Vanderbilt’s 2024 Live Learn Lead Symposium was held on March 1, with a focus on developing mentorship connections with female professionals. The event was sponsored by the Vanderbilt University Sesquicentennial Grant and featured keynote speaker Vice Admiral Nora Tyson ‘79.

The symposium began with opening remarks from Provost C. Cybele Raver and a conversation with Tyson. After lunch, participants engaged in two panel sessions and concluded with networking receptions held by the panelists and organizers. 

Candice Storey Lee, vice chancellor for athletics and athletic director, expressed the importance of leadership conferences like the symposium which allow for professionals to learn from each other.

“One thing that I’ve learned about leadership is that you never stop growing and developing as a leader,” Lee said. “If you get to the point where you think you know it all, you’re in trouble. So when I heard about today’s program, I was determined to free up as much time as possible.”

In addition to the faculty, staff and guest speakers with whom participants could network, the symposium had a student-run emphasis. Seniors Kate Lanham, Macy Su, Grace Kirtley and Mykayla Couchenour comprised the executive team that organized the symposium, and Lanham was chosen to moderate the conversation with Tyson.

Faculty organizers, like Jill Stratton, assistant provost for academic support and community engagement, intended for the symposium to be student-led so that undergraduates could lead the conversation with attendees and collaborate with fellow professionals.

“One of the things we wanted out of our symposium was to really showcase our students and their ownership,” Stratton said. “Our executive team is so humble and accomplished. They are my mentors just as much as I am theirs.”

In addition to student-led conversations, the symposium focused on the difficulties faced by female professionals attempting to break long-standing barriers in their respective fields. Tyson, the first woman to lead a United States Naval fleet, spoke on this during her conversation with Lanham.

“When I took the aptitude test for the Navy, you have to remember this was 1979 and the opportunities for women were very limited, particularly operationally,” Lanham said. “Ships, flying, submarines, special operations, forget it. The recruiter put me down for general unrestricted, which is where the vast majority of women were placed.”

When asked by Lanham how she overcame the frustrations and obstacles presented by such restrictions, Tyson explained the importance of exploiting any opportunity she had. 

“When I got into aviation after flight school, I went back down to Pensacola to drive our Lexington training carrier, which was an old Korean War carrier,” Tyson said. “So I got the opportunity to drive a ship and be on a carrier to the degree that I could, considering that it was the only ship that female aviators could get to at the time. I had done pretty well on the squadron on the ship, and after that was when the door opened and I was ready to step through the door.”

Lee further touched on the difficulties of being a trailblazer in a male-dominated field while also reaffirming her praise of Tyson.

“When [we] talk about breaking the glass ceiling, people don’t talk about how you’re usually the first person to get cut,” Lee said. “We don’t often talk about the things they have to endure so that the people who come behind them don’t have to get cut. [Tyson] is a person who has done a lot and deserves all of those accolades and those references.”

Along with discussing her career path and the barriers she endured to become a commanding officer, Tyson credits Vanderbilt for offering a fulfilling undergraduate experience that paved the way for her future goals.

“I didn’t have a specific reason to go to Vanderbilt, I just wanted to go,” Tyson said. “So I went, and I loved it. I got so much life experience and made great friends. I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do after graduation, but I was inspired to be open to more possibilities.”

In a similar fashion, Raver emphasized the importance of a transformative educational experience in her welcoming address. She confirmed that events like the Live Learn Lead symposium can inspire students to become leaders in their own right, just as Tyson was before them. 

“My vision is for us to be able to transform higher education to really help the world better understand what universities do … and how we serve as a training ground for the next generation of leaders,” Raver said. “[This symposium] is important because it shows that level of leadership being manifested as I speak.”