20-03-2025
Waco ISD Women's Empowerment Summit Focuses on ‘Becoming'
WACO, TX (FOX 44) — For several years now, Waco Independent School District (I.S.D.) has hosted the Women's Empowerment Summit, an event designed to inspire and equip young women to realize their full potential.
This year's theme, 'Becoming,' encouraged attendees to embrace the process of growth, confidence, and leadership.
Yolanda Williams is the Executive Director for Student Support at Waco ISD, who emphasized the importance of providing students with exposure to diverse opportunities. 'It's very important that we allow our students to be exposed to all different types of opportunities so that people can make choices and know that there are other things that they can do to challenge themselves,' she said.
The summit welcomed young women from 7th to 12th grade, offering a series of seminars and workshops aimed at building skills in areas such as confidence, networking, professionalism, and etiquette. The event provided an opportunity for personal and professional growth, and each year, the summit is hosted at a different campus to offer students a chance to explore new environments.
The summit was held at McLennan Community College last year, while this year it took place at Baylor University.
For Shanija Smith, a junior at Waco High, this was her second year attending the summit. She shared how the experience has helped her grow both personally and professionally.
'You get to learn more about being a woman, being confident, being a business professional,' Smith said.
Jocelyn Austin, a senior at Waco High, expressed her gratitude for the opportunity to attend the summit before graduation, 'The information I will use in the future, and it's very attainable just to sit down and understand everything. It was a beautiful concept, just being in the chairs and I love it,' Austin said.
As the day progressed, students moved from one empowering session to the next, many of them excited about the new possibilities ahead. 'It's a great opportunity, and I hope that every other district gets to witness this just like we did today. It was a good thing. It was very helpful to the younger women, to even me, myself. I learned some stuff that I've never, ever gotten a chance to experience and to learn,' Austin added.
For Yolanda Williams, seeing the students' enthusiasm and excitement year after year continues to drive her passion to make the summit better each time. 'It's a feeling that I can't even really describe. They… it's in their words. It's in their smiles. It's in their conversations. The children, they just get so excited,' Williams said.
As the summit concluded, these young women walked away with not just new skills, but a renewed sense of purpose, each step closer to becoming the confident, empowered individuals they are meant to be.
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