Women of Color Summit

The goal of the Women of Color Summit is to celebrate, connect and educate women of color who have chosen to embark on the journey of becoming a Dickinsonian. The summit is held every year in the spring and is dedicated to connecting alumni, current students and faculty to share and discuss ways for women of color to live intentionally, cultivate successful careers through community networking and form a sisterhood.   

As a result of health and safety mandates and concerns posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, we will be hosting this year’s summit through Zoom. We plan for attendees to learn and share about navigating challenging situations, finding meaning and purpose, leveraging the Dickinson education and worldwide Dickinson community to create a path toward success, finding and maintaining identity in new national and international communities, forging concrete skills that have helped women reach success and working toward lasting change by partnering with allies from dominant groups.   

Registration Fee: Free   

Who: Day one of the summit (Saturday, March 5) is open to anyone in the Dickinson community who identifies as a woman of color. Day two is open to all women of color as well men or women seeking to understand allyship.   

Hosted by: The 2021 Women of Color Summit Executive Committee   

Location: This event will be virtual and will take place through Zoom   

Registrants are invited to attend as many sessions as they wish. You can find the full schedule for the summit below. Zoom links will be provided, along with a full agenda, in an email leading up to the first day of the summit. Thank you for your support in attending this year's summit.    

Theme: Focus the Empowered Women 

Date: March 4-6, 2022 

Schedule

Saturday: 

Welcoming Address: 10:30-11:30 a.m.  

The Women of Color Summit Planning Committee Executive Members will welcome guests and thank everyone in attendance. We will be opening the summit by honoring the women of color who have paved the way for us to be here on campus today. We will thank the past and current board of trustees and alumni council women of color members. Finally, we will end Day 1 with a fireside chat  

Asserting Your Worth: 11:45 a.m. - 12:45 p.m.  

More often than not women of color are made to believe that they are lesser than their white counterparts. Admittedly, it is hard to distance yourself from those ideas as you become older, especially after growing up in a society that severely undermines women’s abilities to be just as capable as men. One must assert their worth in all aspects of life. Obviously, this is generally easier said than done. Within an academic setting, it can be hard to navigate the balance of not settling for less as a minority. Precisely, this event will help foster the attitude of valuing who you are as an individual and the purpose you fulfill in the world. As women of color, we all deserve to be both seen and actively acknowledged for the contributions we make, regardless of the environment we reside in. And this workshop will tackle just that: claiming ownership of opportunities you have rightfully earned, standing up for yourself, dismantling feelings of guilt, etc. Most importantly, we will collectively practice the stance of not only saying you are worthy but actively showing it. 

Rock Your Body: A Discussion about Appreciating Your Physical Appearance as a Woman of Color: 11:45 a.m. - 12:45 p.m.  

Since the genesis of modern society, the woman’s body has been scrutinized and expected to meet criteria set by patriarchy. For women of color, especially, our bodies have been dissected to the point of dehumanization. To this day, our weight, skin tone, facial features, hair, etc. are used as markers for the way we will be treated by other members of society. In this workshop, we will focus on body positivity, especially as it pertains to women of color. How can we maintain our self-confidence in our physical appearance in the face of scrutiny?  

Emerging from COVID-19: Where Do We Go From Here: 1:00 - 2:00 p.m.  

In March 2020, students all over the country departed from campus in hopes of returning after spring break. Instead, they, along with their families, were forced to quarantine at home and watch as the COVID-19 virus infected thousands of people worldwide. The COVID-19 pandemic has proved to us that the worst scenario, though unexpected, can occur and can change the trajectory of our lives. In this workshop, we will address the ways that the pandemic has affected women of color in all facets of our lives, and we will determine ways to continue to grow beyond setbacks that we may have encountered during this pivotal time in word history. How to renew our thinking with an attitude of strength, flexibility, resilience, and joy 

Cultivating Inner Peace: Clearing the Way for Healthy Changes: 1:00 - 2:00 p.m. 

Juggling all your responsibilities can be quite the balancing act.  Your resources are finite and if you push too hard, you may find yourself out of balance. Take a step back to reflect on your personal and professional goals, evaluate how you are spending your time, and find strategies to balance all that you do so that you can make the most of your time in college and work. In this workshop, Women of Color at Dickinson will learn about the practice of mindfulness to help promote resilience, improve stress management, and compassion for the self and others. This experimental workshop will allow WOC at Dickinson to empower themselves with the knowledge of practical mindfulness skills and learn how to reconnect the mind-body relationship to work at its optimal.  

Break: 2:00 - 3:30 p.m. 

Alumnae Talks (PANEL): 3:30 - 4:45 p.m. 

As we all know, this college is a predominantly white institution. Thus, it is imperative that people of color do not feel alienated in a place in which they are meant to flourish and expand their horizons. A sense of indifference should not be felt by any member of this campus. However, feeling outcasted is nothing out of the norm, unfortunately. Especially as you navigate assimilating into an environment in which you pose discomfort to some and a presumed challenge to others. In dealing with this, a community can often be vital in managing those emotions. Precisely, this event will help people feel comfortable in dealing with this new facet of their lives. Through connecting with different POC alumni, we will be able to learn how to handle issues like imposter syndrome, social capital, etc within both the academic and professional spheres. A safe space for having important conversations will be established in which we can discuss the realities of what it truly is like to be a woman of color. And, above all, this workshop will foster a sense of unity and strength for active and past students of Dickinson College. 

Closing Session: 5:00 - 5:20 p.m. 

Sunday 

Allyship Workshops: 12:00 - 1:00 p.m. 

Opening Statement: 12:00 - 12:15 p.m. 

Facilitator will help facilitate an allyship workshop and discuss the differences that may exist between what WOC may expect from their allies and the general perceptions of what allyship means 

Closing Ceremony: 1:30 - 2:30 p.m.