WEDNESDAY,APRIL30.2003
NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN = 5A
Executive women offer career tips
By Eddie Yang eyang@kansan.com Kansan staff writer
A panel of women executives provided some valuable insight for soon-to-be graduates last night at the Kansas Union.
The Emily Taylor Women's Resource Center and University Career and Employment Services hosted a panel discussion with top women executives from around the area. The discussion was a part of the "From Backpacks to Briefcases" series which aims at smoothing the transition from college life to the corporate world.
But before the panel began, Steve Mercurio, manager at Saffees, 922 Massachusetts St., enceased a fashion show of corporate apparel. Mercurio said picking the right wardrobe was essential for women in the corporate world.
"See what your assets are, and you show it," Mercurio said. "You want to stick to colors that will bring out your natural tones."
Topics discussed in addition to wardrobe options included balancing career and life and maintaining a set of values.
"You want to choose a job that is aligned with your personal values," said Joy Wheeler, president of HealthGuard. "You will be much happier and successful because of it."
Cathy Curless, division senior vice president and chief information officer for Payless Shoesource, also stressed the importance of having a set of values.
"Don't compromise your values no matter what," Curless. "It makes life easier to have a set of values to base every decision on."
"Don't compromise your values no matter what. It makes life easier to have a set of values to base every decision on."
Cathy Curless
division senior vice president of Payless
Shoeresource
Laura Gregory, 1975 KU graduate and chairwoman of the board at KC Masterpiece Barbecue and Grill Restaurants, has been maintaining her personal values since she graduated.
that I wanted to live in Lawrence and not work in journalism, the degree that I just graduated with." Gregory said. "You can add, change, or expand your credo, but 90 to 95 percent will be the same."
"I got out of school and knew
Lynley Goodman, Leawood senior, said the discussion was helpful.
"The biggest deal I ever made was on a golf course," Wheeler said.
Besides maintaining a set of values, Wheeler said women should also learn the game of golf.
"It was interesting to see how these women got to where they are," Goodman said. "They shared a lot of useful tips that I could use."
— Edited by Erin Chapman
Products help detect date rape drugs
Bv Erin Ohm
By Erin Ohn
eohm@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
A new technology is available to help detect the presence of date-rape drugs in drinks, but students won't find it in Lawrence.
Drink Safe Technology has created two products, a coaster and test strips, that test drinks for the presence of the major daterape drugs Ketamine and gamma hydroxybutyrate, commonly called GHB. The technology allows anyone to perform an easy test to find out whether the drugs were put in a drink the user thinks might be contaminated.
No pharmacies in Lawrence carry the products, and the KU Bookstore does not have them, but students at Kansas State University can get them from the Union Bookstore and Varney's Bookstore, a local bookstore. A card
containing two test strips costs $1.99 at the student bookstore.
Steve Levin, manager at the Union Bookstore and whose family also owns Varney's bookstore, said he found out about the products at a convention showing new products for college stores.
"I immediately thought it would be a new product that would be useful to students," Levin said. "Especially on a university campus situation, you have a lot of opportunity to mingle with people you don't know. A young person could just keep this in their wallet or purse and if they have suspicion, could test it and just know."
Ashley Heintzelman, Overland Park senior, said she thought the test strips were a great idea.
"I would buy it for a precaution," she said. "I think with the threat of that kind of stuff happening, every girl should have some."
Heintzelman said she would buy the strips if they were available, especially at such a reasonable price.
According to the products' Web site, www.drinksafetech.com, the test is effective on all soft drinks, beers and hard liquors. The test strips come on a card the size of a credit card and the user simply uses a straw or finger to put some of the drink on the strip. If the strip changes colors, the drink is contaminated, and if it doesn't, the drink is safe.
Melissa McCormick, a pharmacist at Dillons, Sixth and Wakarusa streets, had not heard about the new products. She said the store pharmacy did not carry the test strips or coasters in stock but would probably be able to get them for a customer by the next day.
Co-op, 901 Iowa St., said he was interested in making such products available in his store if the cost wasn't too great.
Hal Sears, wellness manager for the Community Mercantile
"It seems like something that Lawrence ought to have available." Sears said.
The products are something businesses should consider making available to customers, said Christal Lloyd, McPherson freshman.
"It's a good idea for dance clubs," Lloyd said. "If you go out dancing and leave your cup down, it would be a good idea. But it's not any substitute for awareness."
The Web site for the product recommended the test not be used on acidic drinks, such as fruit juice, any milk products, some wines and drinks with tonic water.
Edited by Leah Shaffer
Brotherly love drives student to leave home
By Megan Hickerson
mhickerson@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Lorena Sanchez hasn't seen her parents in a year.
The Asunción, Paraguay, junior moved to Lawrence from Paraguay last year to attend the University of Kansas.
Sanchez's father is a retired military general, and she moved around to other countries as a child.
Dan Nelson/Kansan
Because her parents divide their time between a city home in Paraguay and a farm in the small town of Tapirakuain, she doesn't get to speak to them as often as she would like to.
"I can't call them when they're at the farm because there's no electricity or running water there," Sanchez said. "They have a generator but I can't call."
She moved to Lawrence last year to be closer to her brother, who works in Kansas City. Both her older brother and sister attended Kansas State University because Paraguay students have special arrangements at Kansas State which includes in-state tuition.
Sanchez has been studying English since she was 12 years old. Although she's fluent now, she sometimes reverts to speaking Spanish when she gets frustrated.
Sanchez's boyfriend, Jason Haith, said he got a kick out of the language barrier.
"She knows what the correct words are, but she sometimes just can't get them out," Haith, Overland Park senior said. "She'll get out of the shower and ask me to warm up her feet. It's so damn cute."
Asucon Paraguay, junior Lorena Sanchez is working toward studying at the University of Kansas School of engineering. Sanchez is waiting to see how many credits will transfer from her University in Paraguay.
Haith and Sanchez have been dating for more than a year, and Haith has yet to meet her parents. They have spoken on the phone, but conversations are limited because Sanchez's mom doesn't speak English. Although her parents accept the international relationship, some cultural differences worry her parents.
"In Paraguay, you don't leave your house until you get married," Sanchez said. "It's weird because you don't get to be independent until you leave the house. I think my mom is still a little sad."
Sanchez apparently is soaking up her new environment. She plans to stay in the Kansas City area after she graduates with a degree in civil engineering.
"My whole life changed when I came here," she said. "I guess my parents will just have to deal with it."
Edited by Jason Elliott
SUMMER STORAGE
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