By Molly Fitzpatrick, EWU Scary Feminists and Eagle Pride
The PJALS Young Activist Leadership Program has been an absolutely integral part this year in shaping me as an activist. Since I was sixteen activism has essentially been a “learn as you go” process for me, peppered with a few conferences and workshops here and there. I have pretty much always relied on the kindness and patience of experienced organizers to teach me their tricks and help me along. This program is basically a concentrated version of all of those tricks, and then multiplied by ten. I have learned so much and even if it ended right now I would have at least twice as many resources that I had when I started. I love that the workshops are discussion based and that I always go home with interesting handouts that I can take back to the organizations I’m involved in on campus. I’m learning practical things that I’m actually implementing to my everyday life as an activist and it’s fantastic!
Liz and Shar do such incredible work and it’s amazing that we can have their expertise at our disposal. I’ve developed a much stronger sense of confidence in my organizing and activist ability since beginning the program. I have the courage and the practical ideas and solutions I need in order to strengthen the organizations I’m in (The Scary Feminists and Eagle Pride). This program has made me feel like I can make a genuine difference in my community and has helped me discover the strengths that I didn’t know I had. I’ve never felt bored during the meetings and I always leave feeling more empowered. This program has been sort of a recharge for my activist battery every month and I’m so thankful that it exists.