By Maritza Gordillo
The University of Missouri-Kansas City’s Division of Diversity, Access & Equity (DDAE) and the Division of Student Affairs & Enrollment Management will host their 6th Annual Women of Color Leadership Conference (WOCLC) starting on Thursday, April 28th. This conference started off as the Black Women Leaders Conference, which focused on issues affecting black women. Now the conference is devoted to all women of color with the addition of young women in high school and college. WOCLC is free and open to the public and is a great way to gain confidence in areas of education, career development, leadership and health/wellness and how to use that empowerment as a tool in the future. Deputy Chancellor of the DDAE, Karen Dace, PhD., says that they have “…invested in providing a network to improve the participation and involvement of Women of Color in all communities by providing programs that improve communication, collaboration, and action.”
As a Latina college student, I am so glad that we have events that focus on women like me who struggle in many ways to succeed in college and in our future careers. The WOCLC will kick off its three day event with a conference for college students that will be held on April 28th at 9 a.m. and the conference for high school girls will be on April 29th at 9 a.m. The conference for adult women will be on May 12th at 7:30 a.m. All events will be held at the Pierson Auditorium, UMKC University Center, 5000 Holmes.