Rain and chilly temperatures couldn't keep nearly 200 young women from attending CHICKS 2015. For those of you that haven't heard of this awesome event, let me give you a little background:


In March, three ambitious young ladies noticed the lack of career resources available specifically for women in the Carolina community. Their solution? To create a one-day conference that teaches young women the professional development skills that it truly takes to land the job one day. Oh and you might be wondering why "chicks?" When baby chicks find food, they chirp to their siblings, alerting them that they've found food. We're the siblings, the sessions are the food, and the presenters have the food. (I know, how adorable.)

Free bagels are the best bagels

With topics such as "Big Girls Don't Cry: Emotions in the Workplace" and "Navigating Politics as a Woman," the CHICKS Conference was filled with amazing sessions, great networking, and (of course) delicious food. As president of the Association of Black Journalists at USC, I urged my exec board to attend and am so glad that we did! Even though I already had the utmost confidence in their abilities to take over the organization next year, hearing them share the information that they had learned at the conference completely washed away all of my inhibitions!

I've been on this women empowerment journey for a few weeks now. From reading Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg to searching the web for articles on the pay wage gap, I'd like to think of myself as a feminist...in training. Not because I don't believe in the feminist manifestos that have been composed over the last hundred years, but because I can't be a part of something if I don't fully understand it's history. Hopefully that's something I can learn more about now that I'm done with classes!

 

Power Dynamics session

Pasta Fresca = LOVE

My awesome sister giving a presentation about using your Greek connections!

Some of the ladies of ABJ at USC!