There's a Way!
By students in the Fall 2021 Women in Leadership Course at Florida State University
About Our Professor, Our Class and Us
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Our professor, Dr. Chanta Haywood, believes that where is there is a WiL (woman in leadership) there are endless possibilities. She should know. She is an author, grant writer, entrepreneur, mentor and former university dean, vice-provost and vice-president. She received her Ph.D. from the University of California at San Diego in 1995.
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Dr. Haywood combined her experiences and taught one of the most dynamic classes we have ever taken here at Florida State. We read books, articles and case studies that addressed various challenges women in leadership face. She insisted that we did not just talk about problems, so we also created solutions and recommendations for some of the recurring issues we noticed throughout the semester.
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Believe it or not, she even had us read a children’s book called My Way Sally by Penelope C. Paine at the advice of another great woman leader, Doby Flowers, who was the first Black Homecoming Queen at FSU! This book was a part of Dr. Haywood's desire for us to get experience with developing and executing a vision. That is connected to how this blog was born. We had a vision for a site that would show readers our responses to the complexities involved in women in leadership.
We developed this motto: “Where there is a WiL (Woman in Leadership) there is a way.” Everything we did over the course of the semester was centered around this mission and vision.
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On this blog, you will see our reactions to My Way Sally and the other articles we read to see how it is relevant to the course. We wrote articles on areas that interested us about how women navigate leadership in various fields and industries. We wrote about women in the culinary field, the music industry, education, medicine, the home, fashion, politics and more.
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Finally, Dr. Haywood wanted us to see real examples of women who are daily responding to the very issues we were discussing in class. She brought in amazing speakers and required us to interview even more women. Collectively, we interacted with mothers who lead in the home, influential attorneys, former White House leaders, the President of American Medical Association, university leaders, owners of small businesses, regional sales representatives, high school principals, founders of non-profits, and so many more.
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We pulled all of work together here so that you can see the impact that this class had on us. Many of us have never written a blog before, but we wanted to share our thoughts and views anyway. We hope that you are inspired.
Our Vision
To create a culture shift that ushers women into leadership positions worldwide, recognizes their full value, and encourages them to actively change and disrupt the current landscape of leadership.
ABOUT US
Ciara Aleman
Editor
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My name is Ciara, and I believe where there’s a WiL there is power. I am a third year student from Miami, Florida and my two majors are Media Communications and Editing, Writing, and Media.
Sarah Arcella
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My name is Sarah, and I believe where there’s a WiL there’s a drive. I am a senior Advertising student at Florida State University originally from South Florida.
Paige Deno
Administrator
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My name is Paige, and I believe where there’s a WiL there’s passion. I’m from the small town of Port Charlotte, Florida. I’m a freshman at Florida State University, majoring in Marketing.
Julia Galli
Editor
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My name is Julia, and I believe that where there’s a WiL there’s persistence. I currently live in Fort Knox, Kentucky, but I have moved around my whole life. I am a second year at Florida State University and I’m majoring in Digital Media Production.
Susan Guidroz
Customer Support Lead
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My name is Suzan, and I believe where there's a WiL there’s courage. I am from Orlando, Florida. I am a Junior majoring in Media/Communication studies at Florida State University.
Kavina Howard
Marketing
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My name is Kavina, and I believe where there’s a WiL there’s ambition. I’m from Orlando, FL. I’m a senior majoring in Humanities.
Aleisha Mowatt
Web Design and Setup
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My name is Aleisha, and I believe where there’s a WiL there’s a role model. I’m from Coral Springs, Florida. I am majoring in Digital Media Productions.
Destiny Rogers
Account Manager
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My name is Destiny, and I believe where there's a WiL there's efficiency. I am from Quincy, Florida and I am a fourth year at Florida State University. I am majoring in Communications in Digital Media Production.
Olivia Skirvin
Vision statement
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My name is Olivia, and I believe where there’s a WiL there’s grit. My hometown is split between West Palm Beach, Florida and Hanover, New Hampshire. I’m a senior at FSU majoring in Communications - Advertising.
Keira Jackson
Writer
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My name is Keira, and I believe where there’s a WiL there’s a vision. I am a third year Editing, Writing, and Media student at Florida State University originally from Orlando, FL.
Nya Hernandez
Editor
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My name is Nya, and I believe where there’s a WiL there’s confidence. I am from Broward County, Florida. I’m a freshman majoring in Criminology.
Samantha Lawless
Images and visuals
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My name is Sam, and I believe where there's a WiL there's uniqueness. I am a third year Humanities student at FSU from St. Petersburg, FL.
Elisabeth Schumm
Web Design
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My name is Elisabeth, and I believe where there’s a WiL there is knowledge. I am a third year English: Creative Writing major at Florida State University from Frisco, TX.
Kylee Seaver
Administrator
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My name is Kylee, and I believe where there’s a WiL there’s innovation. I’m from Orlando, Florida. I am a senior at Florida State University studying Media Communication.
Nick Karpiw
Writer
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My name is Nicholas, and I believe where there’s a WiL there’s diversity. I am from Ocala, Florida. I am a senior majoring in Anthropology with a minor in Communications at Florida State University.
Avery Cole
About the blog
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My name is Avery, and I believe where there’s a WiL there’s fearlessness. I’m originally from Lake Charles, Louisiana. I’m a junior majoring in Marketing.
Rhayane Costa
Marketing
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My name is Rhayane, and I believe where there is a WiL there’s achievement. I am from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. I am a senior majoring in Economics with a minor in Communication at Florida State University.
Leen Shlomo
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My name is Leen, and I believe where there’s a WiL there’s striving. I am from Miami, Florida. I am a senior majoring in Media/Communication Studies here at Florida State University.