Ottawa County freshmen attend Ohio inaugural Young Women Lead conference

March marks Women’s History Month, and what better way to celebrate than a Young Women's conference.

Ottawa County’s freshmen girls spent March 21 at Ohio’s inaugural Young Women Lead Conference at the Liberty Aviation Museum. Young Women Lead provides life-changing and experiential leadership events for young women.

Julie Carrier, CEO of Girls Lead Worldwide, spoke to attendees.

“The most important person you need is who? Who is the most important person that you need? Go ahead and point to yourself,” Carrier said. “Today is about leading yourself to lead and live your best life.”

Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Toledo, had a message via video call.

“I am so proud to address you today, to be a part of this vision and mission that will help to create a future generation of leaders here in Ottawa County, across our Buckeye State and throughout our nation.”

The Second Lady of Ohio, Tina Husted, made an appearance and provided the girls with some of her best practices and leadership advice.

“I think that it's critical more than ever for us to speak out and share hope and optimism with our youth, especially with our young ladies.”

Husted explained how engagement is key for growth and development. Whether it’s with your community, volunteering, your school, sports, church or otherwise, getting out there and doing something is critical. It’s hard when you don’t have a role model, however.

“I think one thing that people don’t really want to talk about today is the absence of fathers in children’s lives; the statistics are there,” Husted said. “If a father is absent, the child has a much higher chance of being in poverty and living below their potential.”

What catapulted Husted, from an educational standpoint, was a teacher who believed in her.

“I was seen in my family hierarchy as the ‘least smart’ child,” Husted said. “I had a teacher in sixth grade who said, ‘You’re capable, you can do this, you need to focus and believe in yourself’ and he made me want to learn. That impact is priceless.”

This event culminated more than nine months of planning to bring the first-ever Young Women LEAD conference to Ohio and the freshman girls in Ottawa County. More than 200 girls attended along with school representatives, volunteers and local business sponsors.

Emily Rockwell, human resources director for Materion, proposed the idea of hosting a YWL Conference in Ottawa County to the Ottawa County Business Advisory Council as she had participated in one a few years back.

“Our speakers (Carrier and Husted) were very well received by the group and they gave us a lot of positive feedback about the messaging,” Rockwell said. “Many of them said that the focus of the event being on confidence and self-esteem was very impactful and, in many instances, life changing. I am very excited for the future opportunities the partnership with OCIC BAC and Young Women LEAD will bring to our community.”

Carrier spoke on the importance of life-changing experiences to inspire and empower others, as well as to never give up on your dreams. She engaged the girls in several activities, including one that touched on goals and empowerment. Carrier brought two girls to the stage for a demonstration, with large golden balloons in their hands, they balanced their goal. Carrier tossed in multiple balloons that represented unhealthy relationships and pressure decisions.

“Look at the successes in their hands, look at what could have been a broken dream in her mind. The truth is, that choice is up to you, and you have access to that choice every single day,” Carrier shouted. “Regardless of the past, you can have a bright and bold future through standing up for yourself and making the best choices.”

Jillian Widmer of Oak Harbor High School shared her thoughts on the conference. “I love it so much, it is amazing, and I’ve taken away that respect in relationships is very, very important,” she said. She also had a special message to any young woman who is going through life changes or struggles: "You are stunning, you are gorgeous, you have so much more confidence than you realize. You are so much more important than you think you are.”

Several Genoa High School students chimed in on their takeaways from the conference.

“I really liked the activity that we did that touched on how we’re all valuable, and that we didn’t just sit and listen to her, but that we all got to interact with one another,” Judith Harold said.

“I liked how she danced the ABC thing, I’m glad she shared that with us. I think I’m going to keep that in mind,” Paigelyn McWatters said.

Miss Kitty and The Litter frontwoman Jaclyn Favro Zajac was the emcee. At the end of the conference, one of the girls ran up to Jaclyn as she too wants to be a musician.

The conference was put on by the Ottawa County Business Advisory Council. The council hopes to establish this as a regional conference next year.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Jeffersonian: Ohio's first Young Women LEAD conference attended by 200 freshmen