Students discuss facing barriers, building ‘legacy’ as women in leadership

Undergraduate women of color shared their experiences navigating leadership positions, stereotypes and sexism at the University of Rhode Island on Saturday.

The discussion at the Leadership without Limits Conference was organized by fourth-year student senate Vice President Sanah Feroz. The panel consisted of eight women, including fourth-year Argha Goswami, the student senate president. URI President Marc Parlange also attended the event.

Panelists answered questions about why they became leaders, how prejudices impacted their leadership and what it takes to be a leader as a woman of color.

“The campus is getting more diverse, whether you like it or not,” Feroz said. “It’s just a matter of time before we see more women and multicultural leaders.”

This gave panelists the ability to connect with students in ways that graduate students or professors might not be able to, Feroz said.

“I thought of this event during my campaigning for the position as the vice president of the student body,” Feroz said. “The reason why it came up is [because] I have never seen any panel at URI consist of the undergraduate students.”

The conference began with Feroz emphasizing the importance of giving undergraduate women the opportunity to speak.

“You have a group of people, they’re all starting out, yet they’ve accomplished so much,” Feroz said. “They’ve managed to somehow maneuver around societal challenges, stereotypes, sexism and even racism to be here [as a leader] today.”

The attendees then participated in two group activities consisting of table discussions and team bonding games. The bonding exercise was similar to the game Headbands, in which individuals had to guess the word on their back in order to find their pair in the room.

“It was a great opportunity for everyone to get to know each other,” Feroz said. “You’re more comfortable to ask questions and hold a more controversial opinion.”

The panelists also discussed what they want their legacy to be at the university.

“I want to be someone to pave the way for others, make space for others and uplift voices that haven’t been heard before,” fourth-year Elai ne Sorto-Justiniano said.

Sorto-Justiniano is a student senator and the vice chair of the cultural committee at URI. Her remarks were similar to others who voiced their hopes of becoming role models for students, with the hope that women of color in leadership positions become the norm at URI – rather than the exception.

Third-year Kairy Gonzalez is the student senate off-campus representative and the secretary of URI’s Bridge USA chapter. She voiced her hopes for URI’s student body as well.

“I hope that after hearing my view, people will start becoming more active in leadership positions,” Gonzalez said. “Anyone’s capable of anything if they set their mind to it.”

Alongside Feroz, the event was organized by the URI Women’s Center, the Center for Leadership Development, the student senate and the Student Organization Leadership Consultants. The conference took place in the ballroom of the Memorial Union.

The event ended with a lunch catered by Naz’s Halal Food and closing remarks by Feroz that reiterated her belief in a new generation of female leaders.