Business coach Dasha Rettew headlines an aptly named Empower Hour

“You always hear about how important it is to craft a powerful elevator pitch,” Baasimah Sabir, a junior majoring in Business and Technology Management, said. “But before now, no one had ever really explained clearly how to do that.”

Luckily, Sabir left the early December Empower Hour event organized by Tandon’s Office of Student Activities and Resource Center (OSARC) armed with exactly the toolkit and knowledge she’ll need to wow the next potential employer she encounters. 

Attendees, many drawn from Tandon’s WOmentership Program, were treated to an information-packed presentation by Dasha Rettew, president of the executive advisory firm Reservoir Advisors and a member of NYU Tandon's Board of Overseers.

A graduate of NYU’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study, Rettew was introduced to the School of Engineering by Chandrika Tandon. “She knew of my previous work with Facebook and my interest in tech,” Rettew explained. “And she also recognized my passion for promoting female leadership and accomplishment.”

While undeniably passionate, Rettew is also clear-eyed and exceptionally practical. Workbooks she wrote and handed out to attendees contained highly detailed, step-by-step instructions on not just creating a compelling elevator pitch but comporting yourself once you’ve been granted an interview, devising a “hook” to retain the interviewer’s interest, and more. 

“We were happy to have someone of this caliber come in and address the students,” Mike Burgo, assistant director at OSARC, who spearheaded the event, said. “We always strive to host the best, most inspiring speakers for Empower Hours, and you could tell that the students were absorbing every bit of valuable advice Dasha was giving.”