Department of Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies

Each year, the Women’s Conference of Florida selects up to four students from each institution to participate in the College Women on the Rise Program. The Women’s Conference of Florida brings together Florida’s professional women to address important issues, network, attend exhibits, and participate in panel discussions with the goal to empower women to have a positive influence in the world. An important priority for the conference is to include women from Florida colleges and universities in these conversations.

Dr. Anita Anantharam regularly nominates students for this terrific opportunity. This year all four nominees were selected to participate. Their participation was supported by funding from the Beyond 120 program.

Here are their inspiring reflections about their experiences at the conference:

Maia Bullard

The College Women on the Rise program was an amazing opportunity for me. I gained valuable networking and communication skills as well as connections that will help me in my future endeavors. I loved the workshops we attended, specifically the mental health and resume workshops.

Goodness Okwaraji

The highlights of the conference for me were the Ultimate Medical Academy workshops. As a pre-med student, I figured that because I got into medical school I wouldn’t need to work on my resume for a while, but it turns out I did. I learned how to work on my resume and what I need to add and remove. I also had fun in the interview portion; it was great reviewing my talking strengths and reminding myself that I am more capable than I thought.

Jessica Sobel

The Florida Women’s Conference not only gave me the tools to be successful in my professional life, but also gave me the confidence to continue pursuing my goals. As someone who has a hard time internalizing her accomplishments, talking to women with similar experiences and attending the mental health workshop was extremely helpful. I learned that regardless of what society teaches me and other women, it is important to internalize my success and realize what I bring to the table. I also obtained useful skills and knowledge to assist me in bettering my resume and interview skills. I am extremely grateful for this experience and the people and friends who I met there. I am also honored to be one of the recipients of a State Farm Scholarship to support my education.

Yveline Saint Louis

The College Women on the Rise Program was so inspiring, and I really enjoyed networking and learning from the professionals they invited. The workshops on mental health and financial literacy were very informative and I not only learned strategies to improve my mental health, but I also got some great advice on how to build my financial independence. Overall, it was an empowering experience and I met some incredible people.

This story appears in the Spring 2022 issue of the Gender, Sexualities, & Women’s Studies Newsletter. Read more from the issue.