On Sunday, May 6, more than 100 students from various prep schools came to Choate for the inaugural Young Women of Color Conference, giving students the opportunity to participate in workshops and discussions. The participants were also given the opportunity to hear Ms. Shanterra McBride, the keynote speaker for the conference, speak about her book, Love Your Jiggle; The Girls’ Guide To Being Marvelous, which focuses on guiding teen girls through common issues like self-empowerment, diversity, and friendship. In addition to writing her book, Ms. McBride is a motivational speaker and founded Marvelous University, a program that helps teens develop their leadership skills. Abigail Drummond ’18 and Shamari Harrington ’18, the student leaders and founders of the event, contacted Ms. McBride and, with help from Choate faculty, organized the event. “Abigail had the idea to have a conference for Women of Color and she asked me to help; we’ve been working together since last spring to execute it,” said Harrington. Choate worked with schools including The Ethel Walker School, Loomis Chaffee School, and Miss Porter’s School to create a conference where young women of color could share and listen to each others experiences.
Camille Grant ’21, one of the students who attended the conference, learned much from Ms. McBride’s words. She said, “She really preached the message that students, specifically females of color on campus, should not feel the need to justify their presence. I thought that was a really good message that girls here don’t usually hear.” Harrington said, “She brought a lot of energy to the conference — everyone could relate to the things she was saying.”
Along with the keynote speaker, the students were able to share stories during their activities. The girls were split up into affinity groups based on self-selected identifiers and connected through their experiences, creating a sense of community. This conference gave teenage girls of varying ethnicities the opportunity to share their resilience and strength through fellowship.
