College Feminists Connect!

Salutations!

My name is Jenna and I have been given an amazing opportunity in regards to the College Feminists Connect program. I will be acting as a Campus Liaison (sounds fancy, huh?) for St. Cloud State University, where I am currently enrolled.

I figure that a proper introduction was needed, being that I will be holding this position for quite some time (lucky you! Haha I kid). It’s only fair, since I will be posting regularly, that you grasp the perspective I’m coming from and creating/tweaking as I go.

My name is Jenna (as previously stated, and just in case you forgot – it’s okay, I’m bad with names, too) and I’m 19 years old, soon to be 20 (in less than two weeks  - but I’m totally not counting). I am a 5’5” single, Caucasian female currently enrolled for my junior year at St. Cloud State University.

I grew up in a small, close-minded, religiously driven town in West Central MN– a town where feminism and equality weren’t, and still aren’t, necessarily welcomed.  Upon my entry to high school, I was never exposed to women in history, never taught that women are as powerful as I now know they can be, and never once questioned the inequalities that I faced as a female in a male-dominated society.

College changed all of that.

Signing Off

As the school year comes to a close, so does my time here with College Feminists Connect and the Minnesota Women's Consortium. Its been a wonderful experience and I'm proud of what we've accomplished at CFC during my term as Coordinator. This semester CFC continued to grow with the implementation of a monthly email update for members and a new Facebook page (with matching profile picture seen above) while reaching out to new student groups.

Personal highlights from the semester include the creation of our Upcoming Events Calendar, and College Feminists Connect's visit to Minneapolis Community and Technical College where we met with Sharon Fodness, Director of Women's Studies, and the extremely active and inspiring student group Sisters for Social Justice. The meeting was exciting for both groups as we discussed possible collaboration in the fall and future.

College Feminist Connect is also excited to announce our first Campus liaisons: Jenna Stammen and Jen Kalveit, who will represent CFC on St. Cloud and Hamline campuses in the upcoming semesters. So while I'm sad to leave the Consortium and my post here at CFC I am also excited to see what happens with College Feminists Connect in the future. I truly believe that it is a great program and a valuable resource for college students and alumni.

Thanks for your continued support and reading,

Britanny Gerdin