By Joey McWilliams
DURANT – On Wednesday evening, Choctaw Casino & Resort – Durant played host to the Southeastern x Choctaw’s Women’s Leadership Symposium. The symposium, now an annual event in its second year, featured four panelists from various sports and business backgrounds.
About 100 people were in attendance, including 75 female athletes representing the Southeastern athletic department in all its areas.
The panelists discussed topics such as challenges faced in leadership as a female, handling pressure, the path to get farther along in a career, adapting and adjusting, balancing business and personal life, as well as ‘dos’ and ‘don’ts’ along the way.
Southeastern athletes attend the 2025 Choctaw x Southeastern Women’s Leadership Symposium. Staff photo.
Panelists included Brittanie Boyd, Senior Vice President of Corporate Sponsorships for the Dallas Mavericks; Kaley Lehew, Regional Director of Marketing for Choctaw Casino & Resort – Durant; Kerry O’Doriso, Vice President of Corporate Sponsorships for the Dallas Stars; and Alex Parisi, Account Executive of Business Partnerships for the Texas Rangers.
Laci Larsen, who is a freshman and a catcher on the Southeastern softball team, said the evening was great.
“The four panelists were very experienced in their different fields,” Larsen said. “And it was a very neat way to learn and get some knowledge about what post-graduation might be, finding a job, getting networking done and truly building relationships to grow in your field of choice.”
Larsen is an accounting major and said there was potential in her future to find a position in the world of sports
“Dealing with the accounting aspects of sports would definitely be something on my radar.”
D’Orisio said that she wished she had been afforded an opportunity like the one the Southeastern athletes had tonight, listening to people share about careers she might have been interested in when she was younger.
“I didn’t quite know what I wanted to do,” D’Orisio said. “It’s good now to get to be a role model and maybe help somebody else, paving the way for them and helping in any way that you can. I think that especially now having the empowerment of women and having females in roles that have been kind of male-dominated.
“I mean, if I can do something that will help the future generation, then I’m glad that had this opportunity.”