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Sophomore
Sara Burns Speaks at the 2006 Pennsylvania Governor's Conference
for Women
October
3, 2006—Sarah Burns, a Barnard College sophomore and
founding member of the non-profit organization Spark the Wave:
Igniting Teen Volunteers participated in the 2006 Pennsylvania
Governor's Conference for Women, September 14, in Pittsburgh.
She was a speaker at the Young Women's Program at a session
called "Starting Something Big," billed as a "discussion with
young women who are working to change the world." According
to the Pittsburg Post-Gazette, the conference drew
about 5,000 women, the highest attendance to date. Spark the
Wave, founded in 2004, is dedicated to encouraging and empowering
youth through educational opportunities and programs to take
the lead in meeting the needs of their community.
Burns
found the conference to be an "overwhelming experience," adding
that "there was a very palpable feeling of empowerment throughout
the event. I was awed by the amazingly successful and powerful
women that I had the chance to meet and speak with, and honored
that they seemed just as interested in me."
Burns
has been an active member of the Girl Scouts for fifteen years
and in 2005 received the Girl Scout Gold Award. It was through
her association with the Girl Scouts that she became acquainted
with Leslie Stiles, the Executive Director of the Pennsylvania
Commission for Women. Burns notes that "We kept in occasional
contact and I told her about Spark the Wave and what we were
trying to accomplish. She called me at the beginning of the
summer and told me about a panel that they were going to have
on the young women's track of the conference. The speakers
on this panel would be young women who had been involved in
following a dream and starting an organization of some sort.
She asked me if I would be willing to speak to the girls about
Spark the Wave and I said I would be delighted."
Other
notable speakers at the conference included Marian Wright
Edelman, Linda Ellerbee, Mia Farrow, Maria Bartiromo, Ann
Crittendon, Teresa Heinz, and Charlayne Hunter-Gault. Burns
was particularly impressed with three of these speakers.
"Linda
(Ellerbee) spoke with such confidence about the importance
of staying true to your beliefs and not shying away because
of the opinions of others. Mia Farrrow radiated with pure
goodness and wisdom. And Marian Wright Edelman spoke with
intent conviction, specifically about the importance of protecting
the children of this nation." Ellerbee advised the younger
women in the sold-out crowd of 5,000 to "think of progress
for women like a road. We graded it. Now you get out there
and pave it."
Her experience
at Barnard has solidified her leadership abilities. "Since
coming to Barnard, my exposure to the outstanding faculty
and my fellow students, coupled with the experience of living
in New York City, has served to further enhance my perspective
on life and my understanding of interpersonal relationships.
Each of these is critical to being an effective leader, and
I believe that my leadership abilities have been enhanced
as a result."
Burns
first learned of Barnard from her high school guidance counselor,
who told her what "an incredible school Barnard is." After
conducting some research of her own, and learning of Barnard's
"history, philosophy, and distinguished alumnae," Burns came
to the same conclusion was "amazed and excited at the prospect
of coming here."
As a child,
Burns enjoyed discussions with her father about his business
experiences as an actuary; as she got older, she says she
"became intrigued with learning about how the business world
works and, more broadly, with how the economy functions both
domestically and internationally." During her freshman year,
Burns took an Economics course and found it "fascinating."
"I believe
that having a solid understanding of how the economy works
will put me in a great position to go in a number of different
directions as my future career evolves, whether it involves
business, non-profit work, politics, law, the arts or anything
else."
Click
here for information about Spark
the Wave.
posted
10.03.06
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