I just witnessed what in my mind was one of the most
powerful presentations I’ve ever heard.
The occasion was the wrap-up of a week-long crafts fair for girl scouts
held at our church building. The girls
made their own crafts, many of them clothing or articles of bling of some
kind. Several older women mentored them
during the week. At the craft show today
where the girls showed off the fruit of their labor, the mentors held a panel
forum that consisted in part of the girls being able to ask questions of the
panelists.
The questions from these 4th to 6th
grade girls were pertinent and on point.
The panelists gave what I considered an incredible presentation and
answering of questions. The women on the
panel were all academically gifted and had vocations to match. Engineering, graphic design, microbiology, aerospace
engineering and more were represented on the panel. The women talked at length in answering
questions, and gave a lot of advice as well.
“Learn to code,” one woman said. Coding is the language of today. If you don’t think you’ll ever use it, learn
it anyway.
“What role does dance play in your vocation,” one girl
asked. I thought there would be no
answer for that from these women, but two of them talked at some length about
how dance played a part in what they did or a project they had worked on.
One woman talked about the challenge of moving from a
literal wind tunnel for the testing of aircraft to a virtual wind tunnel, how
that transition took place and what was required to do so. One talked about what happens when, due to no
one’s fault, there is a layoff and you’re suddenly out of work. One spoke of how much she loves getting out
and meeting new people in her line of work (she’s now an outreach coordinator
for a university).
The women talked about education, goals, challenges, the
good and the not so good. But more than
anything, these women demonstrated to the girls (and to the greater audience)
that a woman doesn’t need to be a dependent doormat or continually barefoot and
pregnant. A woman can indeed achieve,
and do so with dignity and with class.
These women were great mentors, not only in the crafts portion of the
week, but especially during the panel presentation.
It is refreshing and energizing to hear such testimony, to
know that there are many successful people in the world. Whether a person (man or woman) has chosen to
make a home for children or create the latest wing design for a new fighter
jet, there are opportunities. There are
challenges. There are obstacles. But there are also the mountain tops and
there are the times of great satisfaction at having done a job well.