{"id":48411,"date":"2023-02-26T13:38:08","date_gmt":"2023-02-26T18:38:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/?p=48411"},"modified":"2025-10-22T10:12:18","modified_gmt":"2025-10-22T14:12:18","slug":"womens-leadership-academy-to-highlight-utcs-march-through-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/2023\/02\/womens-leadership-academy-to-highlight-utcs-march-through-history\/","title":{"rendered":"Women\u2019s Leadership Academy to highlight Women’s History Month’s “March Through History”"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Senior Julia Stranahan is chair of the Coalition Advocating for Student Empowerment, the executive leadership board that creates and organizes programs for the Center for Women and Gender Equity. Photo by Angela Foster.<\/p><\/div>\n

Every year, March is designated Women\u2019s History Month to recognize and honor women\u2019s contributions to history.<\/p>\n

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga will host events all month long\u2014and even in the days leading up to March\u2014celebrating the influence of women on culture both historically and currently.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s very important to recognize those that came before us that helped pave the way,\u201d said Emily Rosenquist, assistant director of advocacy and education for the Center for Women and Gender Equity. \u201cThere\u2019s still a road to pave ahead of us, but we need to recognize the people that have laid the groundwork and have laid the road down for us to be where we are.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn top of that, how can we use that to move forward? How can we honor and respect those people that did that work?\u201d<\/p>\n

Lauren Ouwerkerk, the Center for Women and Gender Equity\u2019s associate director of programming, said, \u201cIf it was up to me, women\u2019s history would be celebrated all year\u2014and we do that in the Center.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis month is an opportunity to spotlight and really focus on the stories and the individuals,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

One of the UTC Women\u2019s History Month calendar highlights is the Women\u2019s Leadership Academy, which takes place March 3-5 at the Ocoee (Tennessee) Retreat Center\u2014about 45 miles east of campus. The retreat consists of two-plus days of education and engagement opportunities for the 26 students who registered.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is one of the most popular events we do,\u201d Ouwerkerk said. \u201cThis was the first year we\u2019ve moved it into March and it makes sense because it\u2019s a women\u2019s leadership summit.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s one of my favorite programs we do and gives the students the kind of engagement you don\u2019t often see. The students really get into, \u2018What does it mean to be a woman leader? What is that experience like?\u2019 And I think that\u2019s really powerful.\u201d<\/p>\n

The student leading many of the retreat\u2019s activities is senior Julia Stranahan, chair of the Coalition Advocating for Student Empowerment\u2014the executive leadership board that creates and organizes programs for the Center.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I really enjoy about the Women\u2019s Leadership Academy has been finding a community with like-minded women on campus who have an interest or passion for leadership\u2014and being able to network with them and learn from their experiences,\u201d said Stranahan, who will be graduating from UTC in May with a bachelor\u2019s degree in English rhetoric and professional writing.<\/p>\n

A 2019 graduate of Lebanon (Tennessee) High School, Stranahan has had numerous leadership opportunities at UTC. During her time on campus, she has been a member of the Freshman Senate, an orientation leader and the facilitator of the Feminist Action Movement. She has also served in a statewide office as Lobbying Director of the Tennessee Intercollegiate State Legislature.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I came to college, I would say I was insecure in my leadership abilities,\u201d she said. \u201cBeing a female interested in leadership things, you have a weird mindset about it; you feel lesser to some of your peers or other women who seem to have a stronger passion or stronger abilities in leadership.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what the Women\u2019s Leadership Academy is all about; it\u2019s very important to embrace all different forms of leadership. You don\u2019t have to view yourself as an exceptional leader to come to this. You just talk about how you feel about leadership and what inspires you to make social change.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ouwerkerk said another UTC Women\u2019s History Month calendar highlight is a trivia night partnership with the Center for Global Education to celebrate International Women\u2019s Day on March 8.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are collaborating with them on an engaging, fun and educational experience for our students in highlighting the importance of International Women\u2019s Day,\u201d she said, \u201cbecause it\u2019s not a holiday that we celebrate here in the U.S. as much as other countries around the world. We want to highlight the amazing accomplishments of women internationally and engage our students in a fun way with a little competitive trivia.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other upcoming campus events on the Women\u2019s History Month calendar include several presented by the UTC Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies program:<\/p>\n