Activities April 2019

GEN21 | Women's Empowerment Conference

I am Nicole Braun, a junior at RHS and a member of GEN21, and I had the honor of coordinating and hosting the Second Annual Women Empowering Women Conference, which was held at RHS on April 4th. This event, which was held at Northern Highlands last year, was designed to inspire and empower the young women in our community by having influential women share their professional and personal experiences, as well as lessons that they learned. I worked with a few members of GEN21 to plan the event. Some of my responsibilities included inviting speakers, advertising the event on social media, and speaking to the BOE to promote the conference.

The night of April 4th was the most nerve-wracking night of my life. Over a hundred people showed up to the event, and it was incredibly overwhelming to see all of our hard work come to fruition. As the host of the conference, I gave a personal speech in front of the audience and introduced the speakers throughout the night. I was terrified, but also confident, as I stood up in front of that podium. Over the years I have grown comfortable with public speaking, and all of my knowledge was put to the test that night, and I think I succeeded. It was a stressful but gratifying experience.

The Second Annual Women Empowering Women Conference was everything I hoped it would be and more. Though many students initially attended the event just to receive extra credit, by the end of the conference, they were engaged and interested in the subject matter. The next day I heard my peers talking in the hallways about how they felt inspired by the speakers’ stories. I sincerely hoped that the event would impact people, and I am so proud that I could make a mark on Ramsey High School and spark a conversation about female empowerment.