The Shawnee Mission School District’s Youth Equity Stewardship (YES!) program and Women in Leadership were honored to host U.S. House Rep. Sharice Davids, to learn about her nontraditional career path and her experiences in Congress.
Davids discussed the beginning of her career as an attorney and her decision to leave a major law-firm for a position with a non-profit she was passionate about- encouraging students to set goals and to take risks in pursuit of their passion.
Following her introduction, students were able to ask Rep. Davids questions in an open forum where she shared her thoughts on everything from managing a work-life balance to handling the pressures and challenges of serving in Congress.
“I really enjoyed getting to hear the questions that are on the minds of the young people who will be leading our country,” said Rep. Davids “I thought their questions were really thoughtful. It was a good mixture of things that were related to my job and some things just related to my previous experiences.”
Shawnee Mission East senior, John Mendy said hearing from an elected official was an interesting opportunity that he previously didn’t know he had access to.
“To have a congresswoman take time out of her day and come and talk to us, and have a serious conversation, and answer our questions was really unique,” said Mendy.
Maliyah Williams, a senior at SM Northwest and member of both YES! and Women in Leadership, was inspired by Rep. Davids’ success.
“My biggest takeaway is that we are powerful and we can still make jokes but we are really, really powerful.”
Youth Equity Stewardship (YES!) is a district-wide initiative to empower students to help create a more equitable culture, and to provide meaningful collaboration with teachers and administrators in creating positive change to school culture.
The Women in Leadership program is designed to encourage young women that they are capable of achieving their goals and obtaining leadership positions through discussions and mentorship opportunities.