The 2014 Women’s Leadership Awards allowed various women to share their stories with us. They were inspiring and we wanted to share them with you.
Brianna Isaacson is a junior studying Health, Behavior, & Society. She won the Jane R. Plitt Award. Below is her personal statement.
A personal statement requires a person to discuss her contributions and accomplishments, but as a woman, society pressures me to downplay any success I may have had. I am not supposed to take credit for things I have done, and I am certainly not supposed to call myself a leader. To write this statement, I had to coach myself; I had to convince myself I was worth noticing, and that to be noticed is a good thing. My fight for female empowerment begins inside my own head and is inextricably linked with all of my thoughts and actions.
My favorite part of being a leader is convincing others that their voices are worthy of being heard as well. Being a part of Women’s Caucus, the feminist group on campus, has taught me more than all of my classes at college have. My freshman year I served as secretary of the group; my sophomore year I was president; this year I am the activism chair. We are a discussion based group, focused on learning from each other, and I have led weekly meetings on topics ranging from women in politics to gendered toys to sex education to intersectionality. We are a community focused on personal growth and empowerment, and I am proud of all I have contributed, and all that I have learned. Through Women’s Caucus, I have been involved in lobby days for women’s rights, conferences on feminist organizing, productions of the Vagina Monologues, and campaigns to promote feminism on campus.
This past summer, I was fortunate enough to be able to participate in a summer program on feminist activism and leadership through the Susan B. Anthony Institute. I was placed at two local organizations: Girls Rock! Rochester (a non-profit summer camp dedicated to empowering girls through rock music) and Students Active for Ending Rape. The highlight of my summer was teaching a Social Justice 101 workshop to 30 campers from hugely different socioeconomic backgrounds. We talked about how stereotypes limited girls and boys, the importance of sticking up for others, and why a social justice mindset is important. It was empowering to watch the girls think independently about these topics and contribute their own ideas—discussing the gender binary with 12 year olds was an experience like no other, but it’s a conversation that needs to happen more often.
Additionally, my involvement with Planned Parenthood through Women’s Caucus has shaped what I would like to do with my public health undergraduate degree—I plan on applying to the 3 2 Masters in Public Health program in the spring, with hopes of eventually working in the field of family planning and reproductive rights. These are my passions, and I look forward to working on them every day for the rest of my life. I want to make a career of feminist activism, and I know my confidence, drive, and personal investment in women’s rights will make it a successful one.