A new leadership program on campus teaches students how to take notes from Beyoncé, deal with microaggressions and network with career professionals.
Soulful Sisters was created by Ohio University’s Women’s Center, Multicultural Center, Alumni Association and Office for Multicultural Student Access and Retention with support from campus groups Ebony Minds, Unified Sisters and Woman to Woman. The program helps female students of color find a sense of belonging while learning how to succeed after graduation.
“Since Ohio University is a predominantly white campus, it’s really important that we continue to carve out space for people of color to make sure we’re providing opportunities for us to discuss issues that primarily impact them,” M. Geneva Murray, the director of the Women’s Center, said.
She said the first event showed participants how to plan their career steps and account for possible setbacks, using a pop star’s mindset.
“While Beyoncé wasn’t actually there, she did provide us with inspiration through pictures and in thinking about comparisons between her life and our own,” Murray said.
Murray said the program’s second event focused on what participants should look for in a good mentor.
Murray said the Women’s Center has similar programs to foster leadership and professional development, such as She Leads Ohio. Soulful Sisters was created because the campus needed a group that focused more on the experiences of women of color and addresses the issues they currently face on campus and will face in the workplace, she said.
Jazmyne Shaw, a junior studying psychology and co-president of Ebony Minds, said she wanted to be involved with the program to inform students about microaggressions, racial tensions and sexual harassment they may encounter at future jobs. Women of color are especially vulnerable to those issues, Shaw said.
When Shaw was a teenager, she worked as a cashier at a restaurant. She said her supervisor would often harass her.
“At the time, I didn’t really know how to address the issue,” she said. “There’s still people who are my age and don’t know how to address those issues.”
Shaw had another bad work experience at another workplace because of overt racism she faced. She said she had worked at the job for three months when a white man was hired and began receiving unfair advantages over other employees.
“They made up a position for him once he came,” Shaw said. “They took away everyone else’s hours and gave him a lot of hours.”
Another instance of an unfair advantage, Shaw said, happened when the same man called off from work because he was hungover, and the manager was fine with it. But when Shaw’s roommate asked for a day off work, the manager was furious.
“I consider it a microaggression when it’s OK when (the man) does these types of things, but when I do it, it’s a problem,” she said.
Shaw said she hopes Soulful Sisters will focus on combating those problems.
“At the end of the program, participants can reflect on what it is that they’ve learned and hopefully the program has improved their lives in some way and will help them be successful as alumnae of Ohio University,” Murray said.
