by Kay Kim, editor in chief
Empowerment continued on the second day of the Bella Abzug Leadership Institute’s Intensive Leadership and Debate Program.
Liz Abzug, the founder, held the first workshop of the day, Good Leader/Bad Leader. There was a discussion about the characteristics of good leaders, bad leaders, and effective leaders.
Her workshop was followed by a few words from council woman, Elizabeth S. Crowley. She used her job as a female council member to encourage women leaders and representatives to rise in New York City.
Women are very underrepresented as not only council members, but also as construction workers and firefighters. Through her words, Crowley hopes that women will not be afraid to hold careers that are stereotypically deemed as manly jobs or in workforces that women are underrepresented in.
Final speaker of the day was Valerie Jeannis, a motivational speaker. Her workshop revolved around the theme, “Dare to Dream”, in which she accented the importance of creating a bucket list and asking. This allows the surrounding people to be aware of the person’s wants.
“Valerie said you need to ask for things. That really stuck to me because I am not the person who asks. It [asking] is a process just because I’m very independent… In the future, I think I can ask,” trainee Drefnie Limprevil said.
There is no need to be afraid of dreaming. No one knows if a stranger would be able to cross something off the bucket list for him or her.
