Three Grinnellians Lead Empowerment Conference for Young Women
Facilitating sessions on leadership and self-empowerment at the Many Shades of Colour Young Women's Conference.
In March, Assistant Chief Diversity Officer Heather Jones-Brown, Assistant Professor and Cultural & Community-based Digital Curator Petrouchka Moïse, and student Rayana Henderson ‘26 all attended and presented at the Many Shades of Colour Young Women's Conference in Des Moines. As stated on their website, the conference, organized by the nonprofit Hip-Hope Inc., serves as a space for empowerment dedicated towards “underprivileged and overchallenged youth.” In particular, the program aims to provide support for young women in grades 6 – 12, allowing them the opportunity to build self-esteem and connect with a supportive community.
This year, the organization hosted the 10th annual conference. The three Grinnellian attendees each led sessions focused on different topics.
Jones-Brown, Henderson, and Amos Hiatt Middle School student Abigal George collaborated to facilitate a session entitled “Glow Up Your Leadership: Finding Your Spark + Growing Your Power.” In their session, the participants explored what leadership looks like in their everyday lives. Jones-Brown, Henderson, and George shared their own personal stories and led interactive activities to support the participants in identifying their strengths, using their voice, and growing their confidence.
Professor Moïse worked in collaboration with Ames High School student Amath Dau to facilitate their session entitled “Path Planners - Laying the Foundation for Life's Challenges." Path Planners was a “character-building” and “leadership development” program based on the principles of critical thinking and project-based management. In their session, Moïse and Dau helped participants develop their life and career plan, understand the essential processes and procedures for evaluating issues, develop internal coping skills, and learn basic strategic planning skills to identify resources and solutions for problem-solving.
In reflecting on their sessions, Jones-Brown, Henderson, and Moïse all remarked on the
Henderson shared, “The Many Shades of Colour conference changed my perspective on what it means to support the growth of our youth outside of the school environment. It left me pondering, ‘How do we have young people realize that their learning does not stop upon the departure from the classroom?' Working alongside Heather and local DSM student, Abigail, was a meaningful experience and a beautiful equilibrium that helped in our presentation execution. We each brought perspectives that allowed our presentation to connect deeply with students in a multitude of ways.”
Jones-Brown shared, “While this is an event that I participate in annually in some capacity. This year was extremely special due to the opportunity for intergenerational collaboration with Rayana and Abigail. Abigail was able to push us in a direction that would be more receptive to our audience of middle school students, and Rayana pushed us to connect the dots for the wholistic meaning of the entire presentation. From our original idea to execution, it was a joyful process that culminated in a powerful message of empowerment for all.”
Moïse shares, “I feel that our workshop was a success, and the participants walked away with a better understanding that by having an understanding of how to build themselves gives them the foundation on how to build community. As a business coach that has worked with start-ups and corporations, it was exciting to see these young ladies understand the importance of sharing ideas, delegating, and leaning into their strengths.”