Bijeta Lamichhane
News Editor
This year, createHER is hiring students from the College to join the program as ambassadors. The ambassadors will fulfill the roles of Social Media Specialist, Event Planning Specialist, Community Engagement Specialist and Advocate Engagement Specialist. The positions — which are paid — will require a time commitment of four to six hours per week.
CreateHER is an initiative of the Center for Entrepreneurship that aims to empower and train women to become leaders. When questioned about the vision that shaped the program’s formation, founder Marina Rosales said, “CreateHER started in the summer of 2017 with the mission to inspire women to become strong leaders. Although [the mission] is on the rise — an issue which played a major role in the development of this initiative — createHER exists to provide women at The College of Wooster with a safe space where they can gain the necessary skillset to think more creatively and like a leader.”
Within two years of its establishment, the program has managed to reach a significant number of members of the campus community, including 907 students. To date, createHER has organized 36 professional and personal events and is one of the most active organizations on campus. Rosales credits a large part of its success to the committed group of student leaders who are passionate about the initiative. Together, the team has organized events that benefit women on campus, strengthening the program’s core mission. The program also holds meetings throughout the year that welcomes all students for discussions.
“The last two years, createHER staff selected a student leadership team representing all class years and backgrounds,” Rosales informed. “In an effort to involve more students in the initiative, createHER also launched the Campus Advocate program last year. These students regularly attended events and helped volunteer but did not have the same time commitment as those on the leadership team. CreateHER also hosts monthly meetings throughout the year that are open to all students. These meetings are a great space to catch up with one another and create a discussion about a specific topic that is presented.”
Instead of student leaders, however, this year createHER will have ambassadors working in different areas to develop the program’s mission. When asked about what led to this decision, Rosales answered, “We created the ambassador position to provide a smaller leadership team that would take on more responsibility individually. We wanted to focus on four areas of the initiative that we felt were most important to the growth of createHER.”
When asked about the activities they will be organizing this year, Rosales informed, “We have a very exciting year ahead filled with a variety of personal and professional workshops. We are looking forward to hosting a financial literacy series that will involve Investing 101, Budgeting 101, Negotiating and how to prepare for life after college.” She also mentioned that the first event of the series will be taking place on Sep. 20. “We are excited to invite knowledgeable financial advisors to campus that will be running these hands-on workshops,” she said.
The impact of the program is apparent in the campus community. CreateHER stickers are frequently seen on laptops and water bottles, and their events get both participants as well as positive reception. Rosales also mentioned, “CreateHER students are confirming that the programming we provide is making an impact on The College of Wooster community. Their feedback encourages us to continue creating opportunities for women to feel inspired and develop both personally and professionally.”
“The hope is that more women will see themselves as leaders, and that they will encourage others to take on more leadership roles,” Rosales concluded.