Emporia State Associated Student Government has its Breaking Barriers: Women in Leadership Conference taking place this weekend.
Activities are from 9 am to 2:30 pm at the Memorial Union Webb Hall. Emporia State staff and students are welcome to attend, as are members of the community. Associated Student Government President Sophia Dawson, KVOE’s Newsmaker guest Wednesday, says the conference is designed to highlight women and is designed to “provide a safe space for women to enhance their leadership skills, network and share experiences.”
There will be two specific sessions. The first session involves topics like networking and finding mentors, building safety nets and civic engagement and advocacy. The second session includes a presentation on Barbie and feminism in 50 monites, as well as information on how to advocate for yourself and future women and “identifying who you are and where you want to go.”
Teri Karjala, an Emporia State alum who is now a business success therapist, will have the keynote address. SnapIT Solutions CEO and Kansas Board of Regents member Neelima Parasker will lead the “identifying who you are and where you want to go” presentation, and undergraduate ESU students attending that session will be eligible for a SnapIT Solutions training course scholarship.
The conference is free and lunch is provided, but Dawson encouraged residents to register online by Thursday at emporia.link/bbregister.
This is separate from the Women for ESU conference, taking place Saturday afternoon at the Memorial Union Ballroom, but Dawson says it will also offer Breaking Barriers participants a chance to network with Women for ESU members — while giving Women for ESU members a chance to have lunch and hear from Karjala. The first round of Women for ESU grants will also be announced.
