Lakeland’s SOAR event hopes to empower and inspire women by providing opportunities for growth in both personal and entrepreneurial aspects. 

SOAR: Women Reaching Higher is Lakeland University’s professional women’s network that aims to inform, connect, and empower women by providing professional development and personal growth opportunities. It offers mentoring, leadership, and networking in a supportive and respectful environment to help women reach their full potential. 

This event is held annually, and this year will be Lakeland’s sixth year hosting it. The event will take place on April 16 in the Younger Family Campus Center on the second floor at noon. 

The event will consist of five different presentations presented by successful and inspiring women. The keynote session will be led by Darcy Luoma and will be followed by four breakout sessions. These speakers include Lorinda Lewis, Sondra Norder, Jamie Schmelzer, Alex Liosatos, and Liz Licht. 

One of the presenters, Darcy Luoma, will be presenting a speech labeled, Pause-Think-Act: Build Your Thoughtfully Fit Core. This presentation focuses on learning how to be more thoughtful in every action, reaction, and interaction. Darcy is the owner and CEO of Darcy Luoma Coaching & Consulting and is a mastered certified life coach, as well as a professional speaker. 

Another presentation, Living Our Values with Intention and Purpose, features Lakeland’s very own Alex Liosatos and Liz Licht. This talk focuses on personal values, intentions, and purpose. By discovering your values and purposes, it is meant to help apply these to your future and personal goals. Alex Liosatos is a licensed professional counselor and the director of Lakeland’s Health and Counseling Center. Liz Licht is in the clinical mental health master’s program at Lakeland University. She also has a professional career in dance and yoga instruction. 

Although not on campus, SOAR will be hosting another event on April 2nd at the Fox Valley Technical College in Appleton. This event will feature entrepreneurs such as Sharon K. Hulce, Sondra Norder, Mai Krenzke, and Elizabeth Jones.  

Registration is open now and can be found online at Lakeland.edu/SOAR. For non-students, there is a $50 fee per person and a $25 fee for students. This includes high-school, college, and adult students, etc. The program does offer an early bird special on the non-student registration. The special can only be redeemed if registered before March 6th; then, the $50 entry fee is dropped to $40 per person.