A group of women spoke Wednesday at Central Lakes College about the importance of being bold when it comes to making change.
The "Be Bold for Change Gathering" was in recognition of International Women's Day and featured area women sharing their stories about how they were able to be bold.
The day is a celebration of the talents and potential of women and girls throughout the world, said CLC President Hara Charlier. There have been many accomplishments in the march toward equality over the years, she said, but there's still a long way to go toward a world that's truly inclusive.
"Today we take the first step, a baby step, to get us a little bit closer to that world that you have in your mind," Charlier said.
Kirsten Haugen, CLC Student Senate president, spent six years on active duty in the U.S. Navy, a male-dominated environment. She performed maintenance on fighter jets and regularly completed tasks her male colleagues thought she couldn't do, she said, because something was too heavy or too complicated.
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"In a place that prides itself on equal treatment of the genders, I was often told 'no,'" Haugen said.
This rejection only served as motivation to prove her colleagues wrong, she said. She joined her female colleagues in taking on challenging jobs in order to prove herself. She kept on having to prove herself, she said, something her male colleagues didn't have to do.
"I should not have had to prove myself to the same people, to the same things over and over, before I was given the freedom to perform my duties on my own," Haugen said.
Haugen found help in women around her who were going through the same struggles, she said, and with them, helped change the culture. But she also realized she needs to teach women who come after her, in order to keep those changes in place.
"Be bold for yourself," Haugen said. "Because those who come after you depend on your fight and your wisdom."
Brainerd High School student Sierra Edwards spoke about her experiences as a triracial girl and how America's indigenous people have been mistreated throughout the country's history. Her background pushed her to help other women of color work to break through the patriarchy, she said.
"There are cycles of poverty, of abuse, of profiling and stereotyping," Edwards said.
People who counter movements like Black Lives Matter with concepts like All Lives Matter do so because they think black empowerment means the loss of white privilege, Edwards said.
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"But the equalizing of some does not mean the pushing down of others," Edwards said.
Edwards has been blocked and unfollowed on social media for speaking up for what she believes in, she said. This backlash won't stop her fighting for what's right, she said.
"Let us keep in mind that it's not fair to attempt social progress while denying the same to others," Edwards said. "We must uplift and encourage our sisters, but we must also remember to lend a caring hand to all."
Lili Charlier, BHS junior and member of the football team, spoke about her experiences playing a sport commonly associated with men. She started off by providing the answers to a couple of the most common questions she gets asked when people learn she plays football:
• When she gets hit and knocked down, she gets up and gets ready for the next hit,
• She's a girl, so she changes in the girl's locker room.
People think a lot of different things about Charlier when they find out she plays football, she said, and they make a lot of assumptions. Some people thought she was playing football for the attention, she said, while others thought she was an inspiration or a role model.
"But even with all the positive comments, the negative ones hit harder than any guy on the field," Charlier said.
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Charlier's teammates, who she now calls her brothers, and her coaches helped her block out the negative comments, she said. It shouldn't be a big deal when someone does something outside the norm, she said.
"This shouldn't be the world we live in," Charlier said. "It shouldn't take an army to make a girl's dream come true."
Jennifer Perez, CLC graduate, spoke about the barriers poverty can place before someone and prevent them from succeeding. She sang a song she wrote, about a decade ago, called "The Poverty Song," about her experiences growing up in poverty.
There's a difference between situational and generational poverty, Perez said. The first involves a major life event, like the loss of a job or a divorce, causing someone to enter into poverty, she said. Generational poverty, however, is when multiple generations of a family are in poverty.
"Generational poverty is something that permeates your values and beliefs," Perez said. "And it creates an intergenerational experience."
Perez's parent didn't know how to apply for college, she said, but knew what to do when Perez became pregnant in high school, because it was the norm. Because of generational poverty, she said, breaking the cycles of poverty isn't simply a matter of picking yourself up by your bootstraps.
"That's easy to say when you own a pair of boots," Perez said.
Perez will graduate from grad school in a few months, works in mental health services and owns a home. She's gotten to where she is thanks to people investing their time and energy into helping her, she said. But now, she said, she needs to realize she's gone from having no privilege to having a lot of privileges.
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"Someone who has a lot of privilege that I have to own and recognize often," Perez said. "And sitting among colleagues who oftentimes don't really see from the same lenses I do."
Betty Riehl grew up in poverty and spent her childhood inside her home, due to a case of agoraphobia. She couldn't be around people or go outside, she said, and at the age of 16 was put into foster care. She attempted to work and go to college, but was overcome with anxiety whenever she tried to leave the house or drive a car.
Riehl got married but one day in 2011, her husband left for an appointment and didn't come back. One day she received a phone call from the Meta 5 displaced homemaker program at CLC, which helps people transition to the job market and address other needs.
"I can do this. I can drive to Brainerd," Riehl said. "It's a 10-minute drive, not far at all."
Riehl started having weekly appointments at CLC, she said, which started to feel like home. Women at the college helped her by teaching her life skills and instructors didn't give up on her. She completed an administrative support program, graduated with honors and now works full time in vocational rehabilitation services helping other people living with disabilities.
"And I'm actually driving over 1,000 miles a month," Riehl said.
