(Photo/Tomiwa Akintode)Tomiwa Akintode The Sparkles mentoring organization held a summit to celebrate and empower women at Troy University on Feb. 27. “Ready, Set, Glow! Discovering your Inner Superwoman,” was held in honor of March being Women’s History Month. “We wanted to do something centered around women and women empowerment,” said Gretil Sutton, a junior elementary education major from Valley, Alabama, and one of the organizers of the program. “And so, we thought why not hold a women’s conference just for women to come together in one night and empower each other?” The summit had three speakers who shared their testimonies with the attendees to uplift and empower them. Two of the speakers were Troy University past and present students, with experience overcoming the problems women face while in college. One speaker compared life to a plant. She had a plant with a dying leaf, and although she tried her best to revive it, it wouldn’t come back to life. Finally, she had to cut the leaf off so the plant could flourish. This example teaches that sometimes you must let go of people who do not allow you to grow as a person. “We chose the younger girls because they are more relatable,” said Samaiya Sutton, junior nursing major from Anniston, Alabama and the secretary of the organization. “They are the same age as most students here in the school, and we don’t know what they overcame to get to where they are now.” The organization created the event in hopes that it would encourage, inspire and motivate the women of the university who attended the program. “I hope the women leave better than they came,” Sutton said. “I hope they feel more powerful and that they can do things that people have doubted them for even before they come through the door because women face a lot of challenges. “The program is a necessity in today’s society because we see so many women bickering and not getting along. So, I think it’s important to shine a positive light with women in form of relationships with other women.” The summit was attended by members of the university’s Panhellenic sororities, as well as a large number of other female students. Students who attended the event expressed the impact it made on them and how important the speakers’ testimonies were in encouraging them. “The event was beautiful and definitely needed”, said Johnetta Rob, a sophomore broadcast journalism major from Dothan, Alabama. “I love the fact that it was women empowering women, and it was just a great way to remind us that we are never alone even when we feel alone. “God is always working.” Due to the large number of attendees and the big impact the conference made on them, the Troy Sparkles organization expressed hopes of holding the summit annually and making it a tradition for the women of the university.
Staff Writer
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