Students from the University of Cincinnati and Xavier University practice their elevator speeches.
“You have a lot to offer.”
This was the sentiment shared by Ohio House Representative Denise Driehaus at the Cincinnati/Xavier Elect Her-Campus Women Win, and all of the participants at the training left energized to use their passion and skills in campus leadership!
Representative Driehaus joined two other women, Congresswoman Jean Schmidt and City of Cincinnati Councilwoman Yvette Simpson to share their stories of running for and serving in office.
- Councilwoman Simpson reminded the participants to support and lean on each other when running for office. Women need one another to get elected and be effective leaders.
- Rep. Schmidt explained to the participants you always have to “go for it” and sometimes “swallow your pride.” She lost a state Senate race early in her career by 22 votes and she learned how to regroup and move forward from that loss by running again.
- Rep. Driehaus gave other great practical tips to women in the room to always stand up straight and project your voice. This can make you seem like a much larger presence in a room of taller men.
The students also heard directly from Greg Hand, Associate Vice President, Public Relations, University of Cincinnati who shared stories of effective messaging and a method of how to develop a message: check out message house online!
This program was unique as a shared training between Cincinnati and Xavier students. The campuses are just a few miles apart but rarely participate in joint events. We hope this is the start of beginning more collaboration amongst their student governments which are both trying to make a difference in the greater Cincinnati community.
There was snow on the ground but the participants used their savvy to gather votes across campus for the campaign simulation. The winner was Xavier student Andrea Jordan who just stopped as many strangers as possible to convince them to vote for her!
Last year one of Cincinnati’s Elect Her participants ran for Graduate Student Council president and won! We look forward to hearing about all that these students offer their campuses with the new confidence and skills they gained at Elect Her. We hope they find new solutions to the important issues they discussed such as class scheduling, public transportation, and sustainability.
This post was written by AAUW Leadership Programs Director Kate Farrar.
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