Exciting, inspiring, life-changing, and necessary — these are some of the words that come to mind while reading the latest installment of the Elect Her–Campus Women Win blogs.
Wendy Matheny, AAUW grassroots leadership coordinator, reported from the Mt. Saint Jacinto College event: Former mayor and current Lake Elsinore, California, Councilwoman Melissa Melendez spoke candidly about the challenges of running for public office — from the negative stereotypes women face to the struggle to raise campaign funds as a little-known candidate. She discussed her efforts to balance personal, professional, and community commitments and encouraged Elect Her participants to reach out to her about their own political aspirations.
AAUW Leadership Programs Director Kate Farrar went to the University of the West Indies, Mona, for the second year in a row and found a wealth of inspiration again. UWI, Mona is a unique campus where close to 80 percent of students are women, and yet women make up only 40 percent of the student government. There have only been three women presidents in the history of the student government, but this may be the year for the fourth. The current vice president of the student government, Stephanie Abrams, is running for president on campus. She has run for many positions, starting from her years in high school and her involvement in Rotary International. Her mentality going into every election is that “even when you lose, you are not defeated.” She maintains her composure in any situation and aims to be calm in the face of opposition.
Congratulations to Elect Her campaign simulation winners Daniel Tripp, aspiring student government president from MSJC, and Judy-Ann Z. Gordon from UWI, Mona.
