Grand Valley hosts seventh annual Girls of Color Summit

Nearly 300 middle and high school students from 20 schools kicked off Women’s History Month events at Grand Valley at the seventh annual Girls of Color Summit February 28.  

The summit, hosted by the Gayle R. Davis Center for Women and Gender Equity, brought sixth-12th graders together for a day of education and hands-on workshops. The theme for the summit was “To go through it, you’ve got to grow through it.”

This marked Holly Jasinski’s first summit as director of the Center for Women and Gender Equity (CWGE). “The summit is a great change of pace for our center because it brings younger students to Grand Valley’s campus,” Jasinski said.

Lariesha Lee, assistant director at CWGE, opened the summit with a heartfelt poem about the obstacles she overcame. “While trying to write a speech for this event, I thought about the warmth and fuzzies that I get from working with young women of color and I got excited," Lee said.  

CheVon McMurray, project coordinator for Grand Rapids Public Schools, has served as emcee for the summit since its inception.

“The Girls of Color Summit allows us to carry on our mission of gender justice and educate our campus, community and our student leaders, who are creating a positive impact in the world,” McMurray said. She told participants, “Hold on, keep your faith, and do your thing.”

Students attending the summit filled the Grand River Room with excited chatter about upcoming events. Ashlynn Card, a junior at East Kentwood High School, said she wanted to attend to help build her confidence. “I want to learn more about how to empower myself as a Black girl,” Ashlynn said.

For many participants, the summit provided them the opportunity to meet other students with diverse backgrounds from across the state. “I hope to learn more about different people here,” said Trinity Johnson, a sixth grade student at Godwin Heights Middle School.

Women's History Month events

The summit was the first of several Women's History Month celebrations at Grand Valley. Other events include the following: 

• March 13: NIARA: Self-Love & Care: Reclaiming Joy
• March 13-14: Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Symposium
• March 18: The EqualiTEA Luncheon
• March 24: Her Story featuring Michelle McCloud, noon-1:30 p.m.
• March 26: Rescheduled MLK Keynote Presentation by LaTosha Brown

– Annie Petitt is a student writer for University Communications.