What’s a “Nick Whistle?”

It’s only the premier leadership event for college women in the United States and globally! Begun in 1983 by representatives of gender equity organizations, the National Conference of Collegiate Women Student Leaders (NCCWSL) has been under AAUW management ever since. Some statistics: 10,000 women have attended, 800 attended in 2017, 48 states were represented that year and 306 colleges and universities. This year it will be held May 29-June 1 at the University of Maryland, College Park.

Attendees will spend three full days in the company of women from colleges across the country, meeting recognized women leaders and being trained and inspired by this year’s trailblazing “Women of Distinction.” They will return home with new skills and understanding of how to lead others. They will put their new skills to use on their campuses and in their lives wherever they go.

For the Sacramento Branch’s first trip into the exciting arena that is NCCWSL, the board voted to send a young woman from our CSUS affiliate branch. Then we heard a donor was offering to pay for a second student! We’re hoping we can do at least one each year forward. The branch membership is being asked to help make this possible. When you renew your membership, note the box for NCCWSL donations and help make two fine young women’s dreams come true.

Billie Veerkamp is a sophomore English major with a minor in Women’s Studies at CSUS. She is vice president of AAUW on campus. She says she is looking forward to being part of a community of strong women, acquiring leadership skills and networking. She wants to be a better campus leader in order to increase campus involvement in our organization.

Alexis Jimenez is also a sophomore at CSUS. She’s a first-generation college student who is studying anthropology with a career goal of being a primatologist. She is currently treasurer of the AAUW affiliate. She says she “cannot wait” for the workshops on Activism, Women’s Issues, Identity, and Diversity so she can share what she learns on campus and with other women she knows.

What’s a “Nick Whistle?” Amazing, transforming, one woman inspiring the next who inspires the next…..