Nov. 16

Common Book Convocation

City of Refuge, this year's common book, is not a quiet story. Every page is filled with emotion that is impossible to ignore. Consequently, I was surprised at the common book convocation, where author Tom Piazza came to speak on campus. I don't know exactly what I expected, but certainly not the soft-spoken man who addressed the auditorium. The calmness with which he spoke about the devastation he felt during Hurricane Katrina and that he has endured since then was compelling. He obviously had very strong feelings about the events. He compared watching the destruction take place from the safety of a different state with hearing your closest friend being beaten and not being able to do anything to stop it. Hearing someone speak about a city with so much affection was almost bizarre, especially considering that New Orleans is not Tom Piazza's lifelong home, although it is undoubtedly his home now. He moved there as an adult, having always been fascinated by it. His passion for the city made me stop and wonder if I am that attached to my own hometown.

It was a great experience to hear him speak firsthand about what lead him to write this novel and to be able to make connections with the things he says and different ideas expressed by characters and passages in the book. I really think the book was one way that this man, who made an impression to me as being fairly quiet and very in control of his emotions, to express what he and thousands of other New Orleans residents felt during Hurricane Katrina.

Nov. 9: Leading Myself

To say I have learned a lot so far in the Women in Leadership class is an understatement.   We have had the opportunity to meet and speak with so many influential women over the past few months that I can barely believe it.  Their poise and wisdom has inspired me week after week, and the lessons they bring to us very class are both surprising, but at second glance, kind of common sense.

                One thing that has been brought up again and again in class is the importance of networking.  I had never thought of this before, but of course it makes sense to make connections with other women.  Who would better understand the obstacles we face?  Meeting and talking with and bonding with other women navigating the professional world is one of the most highly recommended activities we have heard about.  This is a piece of advice I will be sure to keep in mind in the future as I decide what I want to do.

                Another topic that we hear a lot about in class kind of goes along with networking, and that is the necessity for women to build each other up and be supportive of one another.  It is such a stereotype of catty women being mean to each other for no reason other than the fact that it is just what they do, but that absolutely doesn’t have to be the case.  I’m not sure how true the stereotype actually holds in real life, but I do think the idea of it sometimes intimidates women from helping each other as much as they otherwise might.  It is up to all women to start defying that formula so that we can all thrive even more.

                The most important idea that we cover in class fairly often is the role self-confidence plays in anyone’s success.  Men and women all suffer from lacking self-confidence at times, but in class we talk about women.  And it is crucial to not be intimidated if you happen to be the only woman at the table, or in the room, or on the board.  The only reason you should not be fully confident in your own abilities is if you haven’t earned everything you’ve received.  As long as you give every task, assignment, and venture everything you have, there is no reason for you to be unsure of yourself.

Nov. 2

I had so much fun in class last Wednesday.  We had a really relaxed meeting at Dr. Krendl's house, where we ate cookies, drank cider, and passed the usual three and a half hours quickly in the friendly setting.  Our panel was 3 women who spoke to us about the importance of diversity.  They each had different experiences and worked in different sectors of industry for varying amounts of time, but they all agreed that diversity is one of the most important aspects of business today.  I agree with this wholeheartedly.  I think it is crucial to have people around who have different backgrounds, cultures, lifestyles, and opinions than ourselves.  This forces us to think about how each decision affects other groups of people and even to justify those decisions to them.  I think this keeps people and businesses a lot more accountable to those they should be working to please.  Along with the relevance of the issue they were discussing, the energy of the women on the panel made it that much more enjoyable.  They obviously have a lot of passion for the subject of diversity and the positive impact it has on those who take the time to embrace it.

Oct. 26

In class this week we heard from a panel of women who have been involved in different levels of politics.  This group was incredibly interesting and inspiring.  Politics is one field in which women are still fairly far from equality with men, and the women on the panel are some of those who are working and have accomplished so much for us in this area.  I found it very entertaining the way that they all seemed to know each other, or at the very least had met along their different paths.  They easily identified with one another on shared experiences and struggles and feelings of accomplishment in the political arena.
I have a lot of respect for anyone who has the guts to get involved with politics professionally.  Everyone has seen how even a casual debate between friends can quickly become heated and emotional, so I can't imagine how intense it would be to actually have to run a campaign and live that pressure on a daily basis.  However, their advice to go out and get involved and volunteer with campaigns was really inspiring, and I think I will probably do just that for the upcoming 2012 presidential election.  These women were truly admirable in their accomplishments and bravery, and I really hope we see even more women following in their footsteps in the future.