Diverse inspirations imbue BALI

by Kay Kim, editor in chief

With workshop themes ranging from leadership to vision to feminism, trainees at BALI were exposed to a great deal of diversity.

Dean of Hunter College, Eija Ayravanien, encouraged the girls to become effective leaders. They must listen, communicate well with the audience, build experiences, and show synchronization between the words and the body gestures.

“I learned [from Eija Ayravanien] that everyone goes through struggles, but you need to move on so you can open yourself up to positive experiences,” trainee Jade Killikelly said.

After Ayravanien’s inspiration, vision nurturer, Vanessa Codorniu, instilled the importance of vision. It helps not only to create a goal, but it shows the individual values of every person.

“I learned that you need to know what your values are that will influence how you make decisions,” Killikelly said.

During the session with Codorniu, the girls created a vision board. It is a collage that will guide the girls to actively seek and achieve the goals that they long for.

This workshop was followed by a lesson, “What is Feminism?” coordinated by Meghan Maloney, staff at BALI. Maloney and the girls held a discussion on the personal definition of feminism, the connotations, what feminism is viewed as, and what it does and does not signify.

All the workshops were closed with Maloney’s lesson. The girls then split into their debate groups to further prepare for the tournament.