After going to the annual 2024 Girls Empowerment Conference at East LA College, we can say that it was time well spent. Many inspiring women and girls both attended and spoke at the event, and shared their stories while giving us personal advice on how to live as a girl and women in this era. To start the day with a ringing endorsement, the staff working this conference gave us free merch including, a sticker, tote bag, and t-shirt, all labeled with their logo.
We looked at the pamphlet, which showed the day’s schedule, and started making our way towards the auditorium. Waiting for us was our breakfast; an arrangement of three different types of burritos, fruit, and yogurt to choose from. As we ate our breakfast and waited for the auditorium doors to open, the vast array of empowering sessions to choose from were pleasantly surprising.
As we walked in the auditorium, after waiting outside, cramped between hundreds of women and girls waiting to be let in, we listened to 90s hip hop music as our excitement to enter slowly drained. This was quickly forgotten as we entered the magnificently huge auditorium, and were seated. The MC came out first, with a very dynamic intro, and then led us to one of the chairs in Parks and Recreation department of Los Angeles, who sponsored the event, and a very inspiring woman in consulting named Lauren who showed us her video on all of the work she has done with the Women and Girls Initiative. Next, the women of the Versastyle Dance Company performed an electrifying and quick dance choreography on stage. And finally, last but very much not least, 23-year old Diana Aguilar Cruz, a Mexican immigrant who shared her dreams and journey to become a doctor. She provided uplifting advice based on personal stories from her very difficult childhood and current journey to receive a medical degree.
After looking at the mesmerizing amount of options for classes, we decided to go to the Grow and Glow. This session focused on hygiene, self-care, and self-esteem for women and girls. Walking into the conference room, we were both nervous looking at all the high school students that were older than us. But then, Ms. Roberta Holts, the Grow and Glow instructor, welcomed us and introduced herself, and immediately made us feel at home. She started off with an icebreaker to get us into the groove of things, and to make us feel more comfortable, which it did. Ms. Holts then began to talk to us about how to stay hygienic at school, and how to let a friend know about their body odor. She made these conversations lighthearted and funny, which made the discussions about self-esteem and BO much better.
We then headed to our second session; an environmental justice and zines workshop. We were halfway alarmed that there were only two other people in the room, including the main instructor. We took our seats, and began what would feel like a very long meeting. A Canva presentation had been prepared, but it still didn’t make the session feel any more interactive. After many long, awkward attempted discussions, we finally got to the real reason why we had picked this workshop: a zines activity. After about 5 minutes of vigorous colored pencil designing, we were dismissed.
We had planned to go to a workshop on skincare, but it was full. So, we decided to go to the vision board workshop, and it was definitely worth it. The idea was to grab a bunch of different magazine clippings that represented what we hoped our future will look like. They gave us a bunch of different markers, stickers, and paper that we could use to decorate our board. We chose clips of the magazines that showed what we hoped our house would look like when we’re older, what type of job we wanted to have, our relationships, and many more things. Overall, this was a really fun activity and it made you think about your future in a way that isn’t stressful or anxiety inducing, but fun and carefree.
As one pm arrived, we were extremely hungry and ready for lunch. At the beginning of the day we had gotten these tickets allowing us to choose what food we wanted, so we took those out and made our way towards the incredibly long line. Once we got our food and drinks we started making our way towards the air conditioned cafeteria. After sitting down, we opened the food containers and it looked pretty well, and it spelled good. However, once we took a bite of the spring rolls, we knew that we shouldn’t have judged the food by its appearance and smell. We were incredibly disappointed and wished we got the fries and chicken nuggets instead. So, to cure our hunger we went to the vending machine and bought some cookies and chips. In general, we learned to never get the vegan option and always stick with our gut (literally!).
After lunch, we headed to a long string of booths that seemed like they had appeared out of thin air. Many different foundations and departments had small tables with flyers and prizes. We checked out the Department of Mental Health first, and the Empowering Leadership in Latina Athletes, and visited Lauren again at her booth.
To end the day, everyone gathered on the grassy quad as we painstakingly waited for the next activities to begin. While listening to the DJ play R&B, we managed to occupy ourselves with the tennis balls and rackets available for our use. Finally, the MC came out on the little stage and welcomed Nooshin “Dr. V” Valizadeh. Dr. V shared one of her poems about perseverance and always finding a way to get through something. It was very motivational, and some teens at the conference were lucky enough to get a signed copy of her book. Next was the very anticipated raffle, we all had no clue what it would consist of, so we were shocked when the prizes were announced. The first couple prizes were squishmellows, but then it continued on with brand new forty-inch televisions! Then it was $50 dollar gift cards, more squishmellows, and theme park passes. Unfortunately, the odds were not in our favor during this raffle. However, we still went home happy and content, after a day of fun, learning, and creativity.
women can take all my money
i love women