With only a few weeks between me and NeW’s 2018 Young Women’s Leadership Retreat, I can feel myself getting more and more excited by the day! I am thrilled to attend so I can connect back with the NeW women I met at NeW’s National Conference, discuss the readings with other attendees, and take the time to inspire and be inspired by fellow conservative women.
Less than a month ago at NeW’s National Conference in D.C., met and connected with so many fellow NeW women from across the country. While we have begun to keep in touch via social media posts, connecting on LinkedIn, and exchanging occasional emails, it will be so great to see some of them again before the summer ends. I feel that with the Young Women’s Leadership Retreat being so late in July with school right around the corner, we will be able to support each other and give each other the boost we need to go into the school year with fresh ideas and motivating, positive attitudes!
NeW always talks about fostering discussion, so I am so excited to put that to work by discussing the reading with other attendees at the retreat. I think it is so special because NeW was started as a book club by Karin Agness Lips at UVA, so taking time to appreciate and go back to the heart of NeW certainly holds a special place in my heart. Both of the readings, “Freedom from Speech,” by Greg Lukianoff and “Lady in Red: A Intimate Portrait of Nancy Reagan,” by Sheila Tate, were great reads and I cannot wait to see what fellow attendees think of them. Lukianoff’s book gets right to the heart of the issue that college campuses face today: lack of free speech. Because this topic is so controversial, NeW YWLR attendees will the get chance to grapple and discuss this issue with other women that hold different viewpoints. This will also allow chapter leaders to witness how a book club could run and allow them to possibly implement some of the style of discussion into their own chapter’s activities.
The last reason I am so thrilled to attend the YWLR is to take the time to inspire and be inspired by fellow conservative women. On our college campuses and in our classes, we can sometimes feel alone and so small, but being around so many other motivated and like-minded women can be life changing. You can learn so much by just talking to other girls and listening to their stories of successes or hardships. It is so true that when empowered women empower women that modern-day magic can happen.
Overall, YWLR has something for everyone: the readers, the leaders, the hyper-involved, and those in between. I could not think of anything better to cap off my summer than by spending a weekend at YWLR with a group of remarkable, intelligent college conservative women. I cannot wait to further develop my skills, both academically and professionally, while making new friends and networking with some of the best and brightest in the conservative movement.
