Meet Isabelle Rakestraw | Co-founder and President of GCU’s Women in Business Club | GCU Junior Majoring in Business Management

We had the good fortune of connecting with Isabelle Rakestraw and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Isabelle, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
*Disclaimer, I am going to answer this question as it pertains to starting a club, not a business!*

Before coming to Grand Canyon University, I deeply desired female community within the Colangelo College of Business to do life with, to learn with, and to figure out the business world with. But, I realized that the college did not have any sort of Women in Business or Women in Leadership group/organization/club.

Throughout my freshman year, I was lucky enough to be mentored by my RA (Resident Assistant) who had established herself within the college and provided guidance and support in my life. After conversations with fellow female business students we both recognized the need for a women in business club. From there, we regularly met and outlined the mission, vision, and goals we had for the club. Several months later, we were approved and got to work alongside a leadership team of 6 to host events, roll out a mentorship program, and ultimately cultivate community within the College of Business.

Now, in just one year, our student-ran club has grown to be one of the biggest clubs on campus, with 650 total club members and a 200-participant mentorship program.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
In addition to leading our Women in Business club, I work for our University’s HR Department as an Employee Relations Student Worker. Funny enough, I got this opportunity through Reena Green, our University HR Vice President that spoke at one of our Women in Business Events. She learned that I was interested in HR and was thoughtful enough to grab coffee with me, learn about me/my personality, and what HR functions I was interested in. From there, she was quick to introduce me to our Director of Talent Management (Karlee Walley) and our Employee Relations Manager (Whitney Walsh), and the rest is history from there!

Reena, Karlee, and Whitney, have taken me under their wing, and showed me the complexity of employee relations. Everyday, they model what a true servant leader looks like by the way they pour into me and my career. They have showed me the beauty of HR, and the opportunity you get in HR to truly serve the people of a business and partner alongside employees.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
If my best friend were to come to town, below is the weekend itinerary I would plan for them!

Saturday:
– Go for a hike around Piestewa Peak
– Grab smoothies from HB Wellness, I would personally recommend Blueberry Cheesecake 😉
– Get lunch at Chopshop!
– Go shopping at Kierland/Scottsdale Quarter
– Go for a sunset drive to Tortilla Flats (Out past superstition mountains)
– Grab dinner at Blanco (my favorite restaurant to ever exist)

Sunday:
– Start the day off with church at Pella Communities
– Head to brunch at Fame!
– Have an afternoon picnic at Encanto Park

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I want to give the biggest shoutout to all the women who make our Women in Business club run the way it does: Havilah Houston, my “partner in crime” who started the club with me!

Our 2021-2022 leadership team who helped form the ground work of the club: Harley Hawk (Mentorship Director), Abby Kammeyer (Marketing Director), Abbie Gage (Secretary & Treasurer), Maya Strautman (Events Director).

Our 2022-2023 leadership team, who has taken this club and grown it to a whole different level: Abbie Gage (Vice President), Maya Strautman (Events Director), Lily Portale (Mentorship Director), Olivia Abraham (Content Creation Director), Avery Jones (Marketing Director), and Kennedy Herschberger (Secretary and Treasurer). And last but not least, our awesome club advisor Dr. Allison Mason.

Website: https://www.gcuwomeninbusiness.com/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/isabelle-rakestraw-a3b408191/