Each year, during the Women of Distinction Awards Ceremony at the National Conference for College Women Student Leaders, five outstanding women leaders and trailblazers are honored for their accomplishments and given an opportunity to speak, and they inevitably inspire everyone in the audience.
This year was no different.
Left to Right: Anucha Browne Sanders, Melissa Poe Hood, Tammy Duckworth, Diane Rehm, and Martine Rothblatt.
- National Public Radio host Diane Rehm told the young student women leaders that there are three things they need to achieve their goals: passion for what they do, persistence in how they do it, and flexibility along the way to achieving that goal.
- Brilliant satellite technology inventor and founder of United Therapeutics Martine Rothblatt said her core message was for attendees to feel comfortable in trusting what and who they truly love. She encouraged them to pursue true love to achieve their dreams.
- Basketball legend and workplace sexual harassment champion Anucha Browne Sanders encouraged attendees to stand up for the women around them through mentoring and leadership. She emphasized that everyone can make a difference, no matter how little they feel they have to give.
- Environmental activist and founder of a global organization for kids Melissa Poe Hood told attendees that change does not begin with someone else, it begins with you. You never know where one step will take you, and leaders will take that step to find out where it will go.
- Major Tammy Duckworth, the assistant secretary of Public and Intergovernmental Affairs for the Department of Veterans Affairs, told attendees how it takes the efforts and input of everyone to make the world a better place. Of particular relevancy to AAUW’s efforts on equal pay, she noted that the military is the only field where women and men earn the same money for the same work.
A few AAUW staff and AAUW Student Advisory Council members shared their thoughts on the ceremony:
The Women of Distinction were exactly that…distinct, each in her own way. It’s amazing to me, and I’m sure to all the other attendees who met them, how diverse these women are. AAUW and NASPA have branched out to all women, not based solely on their academic success or social status but also based on their character. They are each an example to all women. Thank you for the honor to meet them and hear from them. I leave the conference with a newly found sense of empowerment, in great part because of them.
– Debborah Lugo, University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas
Anucha Browne Sanders
I was especially inspired by the remarks of Women of Distinction Awardee Anucha Browne Sanders. She enabled the audience to connect with those pivotal moments in time when she knew she had to fight against the sexual harassment she’d experienced. Those moments included the point when Sanders realized–through the tremendous appreciation a tearful woman had once expressed to her–that she was doing the right thing not just for herself but for many other women.
–Ashley Carr, AAUW Director of Marketing and Communications
AAUW Government Relations Coordinator Anne Hedgepeth with Woman of Distintion Tammy Duckworth
The Women of Distinction Ceremony remains one of the events I look forward to yearly. The tremendous words of each of our honorees speak to everyone in attendance, not just our conference participants. This year I left feeling as if I had heard the most holistic words of advice possible to motivate me to go forth and kick butt. Not only were there action plans and you-can-do-it moments, but this year’s honorees took the time to recognize the unwavering support of their loved ones in helping them achieve their accomplishments. It was inspiring.”
– Anne Hedgepeth, AAUW Government Relations Coordinator
We are so honored and humbled to be in the presence of these women who have achieved in various capacities. Their messages of inspiration, courage, hope, and love touched the hearts of all those who were present. It is our hope that the young women in the audience are inspired as they discover their inner leader, to touch the lives of others, and to bring about change through action.
– Tammy Hong, Illinois State University, Normal, Illinois
–Catherine Grandorff, South Dakota State University, Brookings, South Dakota
Student Advisory Council Members with the 2009 Women of Distinction
I attended the Women of Distinction Award at the National Conference of College Women Student Leaders last weekend. All chosen women: Anucha Browne Sanders, Tammy Ducksworth, Melissa Poe Hood, Diane Rehm and Martine Rothblatt are exceptional. They provided excellent motivational and inspirational energy to the conference. All are excellent mentors and role models.
Keynote Speaker, Kirk W. Johnson provided a story of how to get up and care for yourself. By taking care of himself he was able to carry on with his work. His story is so involved. You can read about him at http://www.thelistproject.org/AUaboutkirk.html. Having the courage to deal with trauma takes great accceptance and coping ability. He represents strength and gives an example of picking up and continuing forward.
Closing Speaker Naomi Tutu gave a heartfelt speech about a poem. It involved a pearl beginning as an irritation. I am over 40 years old and this touched me deeply. When you are younger most mistakes have not happened yet. This speech gave me hope about starting over and how it is not really starting over. I know this to be true in my mind even before the speech but to feel it is great.
I attended 4 workshops: Women’s Health and Wellnes. Develop a personal plan for optimum wellness by Kathy Haldeman, Outclass the Competition: Business Etiquette by Diane Brown, Identify Your Strengths and Build a Network by Lee Calizo and The Many Pieces of You! Networking in a Woman’s World by Laura Rhoades, Aysha Caram Puhl and Kelly Roberts. I learned so much. I am in an online Phi Theta Kappa leadership class and this conference reinforced my teachings.
I traveled about 4 hours from the Poconos to the conference. It was so worth it. I was awarded a full scholarship to attend from the Pennsylvania state chapter of American Association of University Women. They even provided me with a $55 travel stipend. I am so grateful I was given the opportunity to attend.
I am so happy with this experience I am considering opening a chapter at Bloomsburg University in the Fall.