The Student Life Office is starting a new speaker series tailored specifically for the women on campus. Real Women, Real Purpose is a “girls only speaker series” that will feature local women who are making an impact through their career paths. The series is designed for the young women who attend Darlington’s Upper School as well as female faculty and staff.
“The purpose of ‘Real Women, Real Purpose’ is to cultivate positive conversations with women who may be outside of the Darlington Community but are not out of reach,” said Dana Peek, dean of students. “The sessions will be casual and conversational and our hope is that both our students and the women on campus will walk away feeling refreshed and encouraged.”
Real Women, Real Purpose sessions will be held on select Wednesdays each month throughout the school year. Kay Ann Wetherington will be kicking off the series on Oct. 25 at 1:30 p.m. in the Cinema Room.
Wetherington is a prosecuting attorney in the District Attorney’s office and is currently running for Superior Court Judge. She studied dance throughout her adolescence and at age 19 moved to New York to be a Radio City Music Hall Rockette. Wetherington received a B.A. from New York University and attended law school at Pace University. She is active in the community and has served on the Board of Trustees of the Open Door Home, Exchange Club Family Resource Center, Georgia Highlands College Foundation and Floyd Healthcare Foundation Annual Fund Committee. She is a sustaining member of the Junior Service League, a member of the Xavier Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution and is an advisory Board Member of the Georgia Northwestern Technical College Criminal Justice Program.
“We have purposefully selected a diverse group of local women so that they can connect with our community,” Peek said. “With backgrounds ranging from the nonprofit service sector to law, medicine, business, and athletics, we feel that these amazing women will bond at some level with our young women on campus. We hope that this series goes beyond an initial conversation and will translate into mentorships and meaningful connections that inspire confidence.”
Future speakers scheduled as part of the Real Women, Real Purpose series include Devon Smyth - executive director of the William Davies Homeless Shelter; Rebecca Nolin - assistant director and head coach of the Girls Soccer Academy; Kristen Leezer, MD & Lisa Blake, MD - Northwest GA Medical Clinic, OB/GYN; Stephanie Bradshaw - business owner of The Stitchery; and Gretchen Corbin - commissioner of the Technical College System of Georgia.
For more information on the Real Women, Real Purpose series, contact Dana Peek in the Student Life Office.
