From Tess
One point brought up by multiple panelists was the importance of listening as a leader. I specifically remember Nazenin Ansari bringing this up as well as Olivia Elder and the other panelists. I completely agreed with this point, and this is something I have also seen in my own leadership style. In high school, I was always sort of the friend people went to if they were upset or needed to rant about something; I generally stay pretty calm and I just let them talk for as long as they want without interruption. In a leadership role, simply listening can go a long way and it conveys to other people that they’re important and what they have to say is important. This helps to build mutual trust and makes whoever you are leading feel as if everybody is equal rather than the “leader” being superior.
From Eliana
I thought it was so fun to see all of these amazing women leaders talk about how their time at Mount Vernon College or their time in the WLP was so meaningful for their college experience and future careers. It was so great to see Meghan Shea again and hear her talk about her work. I am definitely curious about what other projects she is working on now or in the future.
I think some of the best advice I was able to take away from this event was about networking. Chloe King talked about how one of her first networking meetings was with one of the other panelists, Jenna Ben-Yehuda, which is an amazing full circle moment. I think that reaching out to other professionals in a field you are interested in is really smart to do. I have recently been trying to do this while looking for summer internships. It takes a lot of courage, but it can be a very valuable experience.
Another one of the women, Olivia Elder, talked about how important leadership is to her. She mentioned organizing campaigns in high school about voting which stood out to me because I did the same thing. I thought it was very admirable that she felt this calling to teach other people about how they can use their voice in our political system. I definitely want to continue that work in college, especially because I am living in DC!
From Lydia:
Getting to hear from a group of such distinguished and accomplished women was magnificent. Especially, considering at one point in their lives they sat in the same position that we are currently in. Freshman in the Women’s Leadership Program just starting to figure out how we will tell our stories. Everything our panelists said resonated with me to an extent. I felt as though I could compare these women’s past selves to women I have met in the WLP. Most importantly, I could be glimpses of myself in these women. Particularly, with Chloe King and Olivia Elder, both recent graduates of GWU and the WLP. In such a short span of time outside of GW they have both accomplished things beyond compare. Chloe’s story resonated particularly with me because of her current academics at the University of Edinburgh. As I have thought past undergrad here at GW, I have begun to dream of attending the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. Of course, Chloe and I are two very different people with significant differences in our resumes, her story made my dream feel just a little bit closer
The panelists in the Women’s Leadership Conference are so empowering, I enjoyed hearing from every one of them and thought their responses are so insightful. One main takeaway I had from the conference is the importance of committing to work that energizes you, finding the thing you love which you will happily and fully commit yourself to. This is also a theme I noticed with the panelists: each of them is doing something they love and care very much about, which is also why they are so passionate about and committed to their work. I aspire to be like them in the future and have the same amount of excitement they did when talking about my work.
From Amelia
One particular story that really resonated with me was during the panel discussion when Olivia Elder shared her experience with Hurricane Katrina. She explained that she was only nine years old when the hurricane hit her home city, but she noticed that the people most affected by it- “the people that are hurting, that are crying, that are dying”- looked like her. The fact that she was only nine years old and able to realize this not only speaks to a probably very observant nature, but also to how blatant these injustices are. A nine year old was able to realize this, and not only realize it, but she stated that her reaction was to say ‘okay, I’m gonna change that.’ This was very powerful to me and also a feeling that I deeply resonate with; as a child, when I started to notice various types of injustice around me, I had the exact same reaction. I think that this mentality, as innocent and ‘childlike’ as it may seem, is the mentality that we all need to have towards injustice and social change. We are constantly limiting ourselves and telling ourselves that for some reason or another, we cannot really make a difference as an individual. We feel that the issues are too large and we are too small. Instead of focusing on what we can’t do, we must make the simple decision that we are going to make a difference. This is exactly what Olivia did; she went on to say that she was pre-registered to vote as early as legally allowed, helped friends register to vote, and learned about the systems of injustice around her. Her success with her current job and everything that she contributes to social justice is an excellent example of what we should strive for as WLP students. Her persistence in her work, especially from such a young age, is a trait that I really strive to incorporate into my own leadership style and work with social justice. She spoke about how she has felt jaded with social justice work, which is a feeling that I completely relate to, yet she continues to work and fight for what she believes. This perseverance is very inspiring and I view that as a very important trait of a good leader.