Saint Mary’s College hosted a STEM Professional Development Workshop keynote event on Friday that brought together students, alumnae and faculty for an evening focused on career development and leadership in Carroll Auditorium.
The event featured two Saint Mary’s alumnae, Princess Mae Visconde ’18, program manager at Stanford Cancer Institute and a member of the board of trustees at the College, alongside Toni Brock Johnson ’89, former vice president of corporate analytics and transparency at Bristol Myers Squibb. The keynote event followed a meet-and-greet hosted by Saint Mary’s Future Business Leaders and was part of two days of programming for STEM students designed to help them build professional skills that are not typically taught in the classroom.
Johnson, the 2026 Shannon Executive Scholar, returned to campus earlier in the day to meet with student groups and participate in a lunch-and-learn event with the Career Crossings Office in Welsh Parlor of Haggar College Center. In addition to her former executive role at Bristol Myers Squibb, Johnson is the founder of Primevest Properties LLC and of The Journey Experience LLC, where she serves as CEO.
Katharine White ’07, chair of the STEM PDW Steering Committee and an associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry at the University of Notre Dame, opened the event by outlining the workshop’s purpose and history. She shared that the committee was formed in 2016 after an alumna noticed Saint Mary’s students were underperforming in interviews compared to peers at similar institutions.
“There was a hidden curriculum around interviewing, networking and soft skills that our students weren’t getting,” White said. “The workshop was created to provide hands-on training and career guidance tailored to STEM students.”
Since 2017, more than 800 Saint Mary’s students and over 150 STEM alumnae have participated in PDW events. These programs offer resume feedback, mock interviews, networking opportunities and one-on-one mentoring with current professionals. White said more than 10 alumnae returned to campus this year, some of whom had attended PDW as students.
Visconde, the 2026 Early Career Award recipient, spoke first about her nontraditional career path in public health. After earning a biology degree from Saint Mary’s, she completed a Master of Public Health at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. She now works at Stanford Cancer Institute, developing partnerships and programs to reduce cancer-related inequities.
She explained to the audience that careers do not have to follow a straight line and that “Your first job is not your forever job.”
She urged students to value all aspects of their education, noting that courses in writing, ethics and the arts built her communication and leadership skills. She also stressed the importance of mentorship for students to utilize throughout their careers.
Johnson then spoke about leadership, focus and voice by discussing her 27 years at Bristol Myers Squibb, leading key projects and now running two leadership and sustainable housing companies. She told students not to wait for confidence before acting, as some of her most important roles were created by identifying unmet needs.
“Leadership doesn’t begin with a title,” Johnson shared. “It begins with how you show up.”
The event concluded with a joint Q&A. Students asked about networking, work-life balance and early career uncertainty.
Junior Alize Nova said the best advice for her was to not wait for confidence to try something new. “It’s better to put yourself out there and gain confidence later,” she said.
Additionally, junior Erian Stewart said the event helped clarify how to maintain professional connections. She said she previously did not understand what steps to follow after meeting someone at a networking event.
“The ‘drip method’ really answered questions I’ve had for a long time,” Stewart said. She added that the session made networking feel more structured and approachable.
White said the keynote was added to PDW in recent years to expose students to a wider range of STEM careers. She wants students to see that science degrees lead to work beyond labs or clinics. She urged students to attend more sessions and to take advantage of alumnae mentorship, as PDW events will occur throughout the year.
“This programming is about empowering women in STEM,” White said. “We want Saint Mary’s students to be next-generation leaders.”
