An Amazing Opportunity!

I got to go to a wonderful program a few weeks ago, and I guess I had better tell everyone about it!
It was called the Women's Leadership Conference, and it was run by CUNY, the New York Times, and the New York City Committee on Women's Issues.

The keynote speaker was Rossana Rosado, the first female editor of El Diario, the oldest Spanish newspaper in the country. She had a really beautiful theory that we all come from people who worked to make our lives better than their own. Whether your family moved here one generation ago or one hundred generations ago, they did to give you a better chance at something than they had. She reinforced the importance of being grateful to those people, and doing your best to honor their legacy.
She also declared that two whom much is given, much is required. When your community gives you the skills to be successful, you have to give back somehow.

Finally, she reminded us to "Keep our tiaras up". Basically, every girl is a Queen. You are completely in charge. So hold your head up to keep your tiara balanced. Show it off, and keep a regal composure. Walk so everyone can can see it, and act like Queen Amelia Mignonette Thermopolis Rinaldi, the queen of Genovia. (I love the Princess Diaries, and I think that Anne  Hathaway is an absolute Goddess of a role model in those films.)

After that I saw a panel on women in legislature, and heard about the impact that women have on the atmosphere of the New York State Senate and Assembly. All the women were in agreement that parties didn't matter as much to the women of the senate as they did to the men - which I thought was rather interesting. The stereotype is catty, uncooperative women, and amicable men. That's not the case in the Senate - as one of the panelist pointed out, the women have to work even harder to get any of "their issues" dealt with, since they are in the minority.

There was a really awesome lecture by Joanna Barsh, the woman who wrote How Remarkable Women Lead. It was an interactive lecture on how to organize ourselves, our lives, and the people around us. We were also fortunate enough to receive a copy of her book, and I plan to sit down and read it as soon as I can find  the time.

We had lunch and attended a few more wonderful panels, and then the day concluded. I think what was most wonderful was the ability to connect with other successful young women from the entire CUNY community. I went to a high school with girls who were convinced that boys would only like them if they acted stupid - so they acted shallow and silly. I haven't had many female friends who are devoted to making themselves succeed, and I'm glad to see that in college I get to meet girls who take themselves seriously. I met several really nice girls from Kingsborough Community College who were looking to transfer to Hunter next year - we're keeping in touch. I also met more girls from Hunter and Macaulay, so I've increased my circle of friends here.

I am honored that I got invited to this event, and I'm so glad that CUNY runs things like this.