GCU WILD Blog

AAUW Elect Her

lvega — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 19:05:41 +0000

I never really had an interest in running for any type of office position, be it student government or a position in my community. To be quite honest, I don’t particularly like politics. After attending the Elect Her presentation on March 30, I found myself reconsidering possibly running for a position in the future. I was absolutely shocked when I heard the statistics representing women in political positions. The number couldn’t be that low, I thought. Women have so much to offer, but we are reluctant to run for office. Just today, we brought up some very interesting problems that we feel strongly about, like the extra food from the dining hall. Instead of throwing it out, we are trying to figure out a way to give the food away to those who need it. I believe the WILD women of GCU can help round out those statistics and make it possible for more women to feel confident enough to run for office. Even if I do decide that politics really aren’t for me and I don’t want to run for office, I will fully support any of my WILD sisters that choose to follow that path.

Written by: Caitlin Roman, WILD IX

AAUW Panel

lvega — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 19:04:57 +0000

One voice can make a difference. That’s the message I took from the AAUW Panel on Tuesday, March 20. Lisa and Kate told WILD about their organization and the work they do on Capitol Hill. I was amazed that these two women have accomplished so much and are striving to do even more for women everywhere. They told us that women tend to go through a whole checklist of accomplishments before they even think about running for any type of political of position. We shouldn’t think so much about running for office of any kind; we should just jump in and see what happens. Also, women shouldn’t be afraid to negotiate pay. We need to be confident and make sure we are paid what we deserve to be paid. The more I listened to these women talk, and the more I learned about this organization, the prouder I became to be a woman. We have so much power, we just have to learn how to wield it sooner rather than later.

Written By: Caitlin Roman, WILD IX

Fireside Chat with President Sister Rosemary Jeffries

lvega — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 21:20:41 +0000

The Fireside Chat was exactly what I had hoped it would be. Me, never having been in the old chapel, found it very exciting to be “exploring” a new part of campus. The evening started with meeting Sister Jeffries personally and being able to talk semi-privately with her. When her presentation began, she immediately took the attention of the room with her wise advice and interesting life stories. Sister Jeffries was pleasant and friendly and incredibly well spoken. After hearing some stories about her younger self, she opened the floor to questions, which were asked by both older and younger students alike. Sister Jeffries answered each one with wit and charm as well as insightful advice to take with us “for the road”. Our event with President Jeffries was one that would inspire many of the WILD women to pursue their future goals and dreams.

Written by: Lindsay Taft, WILD IX

Fireside Chat with President Jeffries

lvega — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 21:17:37 +0000

On Thursday, March 15, WILD IX had a fireside chat with Sister Rosemary Jeffries. I’ll admit, the thought of approaching the president of the university was a little nerve-wracking. I had this image of a stern matriarch with a no-nonsense attitude, but I was pleased to be proved wrong. Sister Rosemary is a strong woman, who took the time out of her busy schedule to meet with us and talk about what being a leader truly means. Sister Rosemary wove tales of her life into her speech, and I was amazed with everything she has accomplished so far in life. She gave us great advice, such as taking 5 minutes every day to just sit and think or pray or do something for ourselves. One of the most important things she told us was that a good leader is one who can ask others for help. That has always been hard for me to do because I would rather do something myself to know that it is getting done. I need to overcome that flaw if I want to be a really good leader. I truly enjoyed this experience and I am so grateful that Sister Rosemary could take the time to shed a new light on the WILD women.

Written by: Caitlin Roman, WILD IX

Letters To My Younger Self

lvega — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 21:15:44 +0000

Our morning with Ellyn Spragins was an interesting one. Ellyn had a motivating story that she shared with us to get our morning rolling and then turned it over to us. We were instructed to reflect back to a part of our lives that we could write a letter to. This was the hardest part for me. I wasn’t too keen on reflecting on hard times of the past so I changed the assignment slightly. I wrote my letter to the people in my life currently, shedding some light on why I am the way I am. Writing my letter was a catharsis for me so I suppose my change in assignment was relevant to my progress in college. Hearing some of the other girls’ stories was difficult. It’s always hard to learn something unsettling about girls that you are beginning to get to know. My compassion for my peers grew that day and I learned something meaningful from the morning with Ellyn.

Written by: Lindsay Taft, WILD IX

Navigating The Lipstick Jungle

lvega — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 21:14:14 +0000

This was definitely one of MY favorite WILD events. Jane, our presenter, was wonderful. She set the professional yet friendly mood of the night by walking around and introducing herself. By the time she got to my table, she had said her name about sixty times already but still seemed like it was the first time. She had the greatest stories about her education and her professional life that she continuously captured you in the conversation. Her presentation was fantastic. The little tips about professionalism and the importance of women in the workplace were very interesting. Jane’s experiences made her little tips more impactful on her audience. The woman dressed in pink really knew how to capture a room! As long as I am in WILD, I hope to see her presentation every year!

Written By: Lindsay Taft, WILD IX

Letters to My Younger Self

lvega — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 21:59:20 +0000

On February 24, Ellyn Spragins came to talk about her book, If I’d Known Then. I could probably fill a book by myself with things I wish I knew years ago that I know now. I really loved that she had us write our own letters. As we shared our letters around our tables, I found myself crying during a few readings. Listening to these private moments of difficulty of my WILD sisters was really special, and I felt like I grew a little closer to them. They allowed me to have a peek inside of their personal lives, and I returned the favor. Writing this letter was very helpful in gaining some closure. I had a tough choice I had to make a couple years ago, and ever since I’ve been doubting whether or not I made the right choice. The letter helped me see that I made the best choice for me and that was all that mattered. Ellyn was a phenomenal speaker who gave the WILD women a chance to discover their inner strength.

Written By: Caitlin Roman, WILD IX

Navigating the Lipstick Jungle, February 21, 2012

lvega — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 21:58:25 +0000

On Tuesday February 21, Ms. Jane Hight McMurry came to GCU to talk to WILD about Navigating the Lipstick Jungle. I learned so much in that hour and a half presentation that will help me when I start looking for a job after college. She used so many stories to help illustrate her points. I love when speakers use stories in their presentation because I feel connected to the person. It’s as if the speaker is letting me into his or her life. One of the main things I got out of this presentation is that if you want something, work to get it. Set a goal that you want and work hard to achieve that goal. You can’t sit back and wait for it to come to you because it might never happen. Ms. McMurry used a quote that her mother said all the time to emphasize this: “The meek shall inherit the earth, but not in your lifetime.” You can’t be meek and mild in the Lipstick Jungle, because it is a jungle out there. You need to look out for you. I learned so many valuable tips for networking, like the three second rule (state what you do in three seconds). I also learned about some startling statistics about the pay difference between men and women. By far the most important advice I got was that there is no Prince Charming who will come save you; a woman must think like a man, act like a lady, look like a girl, and work like a horse. Button your way to the top, don’t zip it up. In the immortal words of Steve Winwood, “while you see a chance, take it/…because it’s all on you/…don’t you know by now/ no one give you anything?/…while you see a chance, take it.”

Written By: Caitlin Roman, WILD IX

Oxfam Hunger Banquet

lvega — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 21:56:44 +0000

The Oxfam Hunger Banquet was a banquet with the goal to inform WILD members about the epidemic of starvation that affects most of the world. At this event the group was split into three different groups: high-income, middle-income, and low-income. The high-income group was fed penne vodka, salad, and ice tea, the middle-income group was fed rice, beans, and water, and the low-income group, which was the largest group, was fed rice and water. However, the low-income group had the least amount of food and water and the people had to ensure that everyone had enough food and water to eat. All WILD members received a piece of paper that stated which group they were in and gave them a name of a real person who is in that income group, as well as a small bio about the person. One member from each group received an additional piece of paper which stated general information about that income group.

One thing I found interesting was that the high-income group was considered to be people who make more than $12,000 a year. This was interesting to me because a lot of people in America easily make $12,000 a year. At the end of the banquet everyone was asked several questions that all led to reflection about the information we were just given.

Overall, this experience was a bit shocking because we learned about how more than half of the world is starving. Everyone needs to come together in order to help put a stop to this problem. Mahatma Gandhi said, “Be the change you want to see in the world.”

Written By: Melissa Ullrich, WILD VIII

Oxfam Hunger Banquet, February 16, 2012

lvega — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 21:54:09 +0000

This was definitely one of the most interesting and interactive WILD events. Walking into a separated room definitely built up the hype and curiosity for what was to come. As the afternoon progressed and the “banquet” was explained, the segregated seating started to make sense. There was definitely a suspicious atmosphere because this type of event has never been presented in this way. The banquet opened a lot of eyes (including mine) to what type and what scale of poverty that more than 50 percent of the world lives in. The individual slips that each participant received added to the realism of the information. Being able to discover a little bit about a hypothetical person in need and then reading what Oxfam was doing to help was a really great part of the afternoon. Hearing the other women in the room comment on their take on poverty was a highlight for me. Knowing that these future leaders are dedicated to make a change sparked something inside of me. I found great light from WILD that afternoon.

Written By: Lindsay Taft, WILD IX