3 The Sounding Board
SHE is... Series: “What Does It Mean to Be Courageous?” By Lorena Oplinger
W
hat does it mean to be courageous?” was the theme of the most recent “She Is…” meeting on Saturday, March 30. Hosted by the Students Affairs Office, the “She Is…” program is a Grace College initiative organized with the goal of empowering female students and helping them discover the God’s purpose for them. Vicepresident of Administration and Compliance Carrie Yocum and Assistant Director of Admissions Alessa Tracy served as the speakers for the event. Both Yocum and Tracy spoke about what it takes to be a courageous woman in the workplace. After sharing their personal experiences and how they transformed their most difficult challenges into opportunities, both speakers agreed with the fact that being courageous is a matter of choice. “We can be both fearful and courageous,” Yocum stated. Yocum began her speech by providing information about her background, sharing about her experience as the only female senior administrator in the administration department. Though she started her professional Grace career as a professor, she was soon promoted to Senior Administrator. She told the students that she never felt like she had to muster courage for her job; situations arose where she was merely required to have it. “I am not worry about having my feelings hurt,” Yocum said. “I just do it!” According to Yocum, one of the biggest challenges for females in the workplace feeling like they cannot speak up or do the things they want to do because they are afraid of being rejected, misunderstood or alone. “I think we have the courage, but sometimes we have to choose it.” She stated. On the other hand, Tracy began her discourse by requesting the students’ participation. She invited her audience to think of two words that best describe them professionally. “Accountable,” “organized” and “teamoriented” were some of the responses provided by the students. Tracy also shared with the students a lesson she learned when she was young. She had
"
According to Tracy, “women leaders are good at uniting people with a common goal… but you need to ignore the stigma that society wants women to be and be yourself.”
"
always been an overachiever; as an adolescent, she wanted to be the best of the best. However, she discovered that her friends didn’t like that quality about her.
Carrie Yocum shares about what it means to be a courageous woman in a professional setting
“I didn’t feel very likable,” she said, “so, I started internalizing the feedback I received from my peers.” And as a result, she became someone that God did not call her to be and she didn’t feel good about it. Eventually, Tracy learned that “being ambitious and driven is a quality that is culturally encouraged for men but culturally discouraged for women.” According to Tracy, “women leaders are good at uniting people with a common goal. … but you need to ignore the stigma that society wants women to be and be yourself.” The Students Affair Department will host the last event for “She Is…” on Monday, April 15, 2019 at 9 p.m. in the McClain Auditorium. The main theme will be “She Is Spiritual.” For more information about this program, contact Kierstyn Worthem at wortheka@grace. edu or Meredith Cowman at cowmanmp@grace.edu
Alessa Tracy shares advice she learned about being courageous when she was young.