Students of the Global Village School perform a traditional song in American Sign Language at the Georgia Women’s Conference 2013 at GPC’s Clarkston Campus. (Photo by Rod Reilly)

Georgia Perimeter College student Salwa Ahmed sat in the packed auditorium of the Jim Cherry Learning Resource Center and listened intently to speaker Verla Calhoun Kelley. Kelley was regaling the audience with tales of rising from the housing projects of Arkansas as an unwed teen mother to her current position of director of Human Resources for Turner Enterprises, Inc.

Kelley was the keynote speaker for the inaugural Georgia Women’s Conference hosted March 22-23 by GPC’s Diversity Alliance. Kelley kicked off events with a speech entitled “Walking in Your Leadership Purpose,” in which she discussed how she never let her past limit her future.  She encouraged audience members to see opportunity in difficulties. “Roadblocks help guide you to your purpose,” she said.

The theme of the conference, which offered educational workshops and networking opportunities on GPC’s Clarkston Campus, was “The Female Perspective in Art, Scholarship and Politics.” Workshop topics included women’s health, fine arts, career advancement, international issues, financial advisement and more. Almost 200 students, staff, faculty and community members attended the event.

In addition to offering workshops, the Diversity Alliance teamed up with the GPC Fine Arts Department and The Chattahoochee Review literary journal to provide a weeklong series of events, activities and performances. The Chattahoochee Review provided all-day panels of award-winning authors who discussed literature from a female perspective.

“It’s nice to hear from someone who has overcome so much to reach the point where I want to be,” Ahmed said. “I need to get advice from women who have made it, so she is the perfect person to lead off the Women’s Conference.”

GPC student Ann Marie Hormeku spoke to a packed room at the conference, discussing ways to prevent teen pregnancy. It was the English major’s first time presenting research findings before an audience.

Hormeku—who attends GPC’s Dunwoody Campus—worked with fellow students to research the prevalence and prevention of unplanned pregnancies in teens. The team created videos, used social media to reach out to fellow students and handed out information on pregnancy prevention.

“This was a great opportunity to learn something in class, perform research and actually implement what we learned about communication,” said Hormeku, a student in GPC’s Honors Program. “And it was wonderful to present before women who are so supportive and who want to see us succeed.”

Event organizer Tiffany Delvalle says she is pleased with the success of the inaugural conference.

“Students have said that this conference has inspired them to pursue graduate studies,” Delvalle says. “If we were able to inspire just a handful of women, then our job is done. I couldn’t hope for anything more. I look forward to this becoming an annual event, and I invite all departments to join us in the implementation.”