Every now and then, things appear to come together perfectly. A fascinating sequence of events can occur when you just stop to take in your surroundings. The people around you can turn out to have valuable perspectives or interesting stories. People can really make your day with their attitudes or the things they have to say. Today, the concept of Women & Leadership was emphasized, and it made me even more excited to be taking a course based around it this summer.
This afternoon, Ms.
Neal, our lovely chaperone, invited Ms. Maher and all the Brown
students (minus Erin and Esme who couldn't make it due to travel plans)
to a lunch at Salute E Vita Ristorante, a gorgeous Italian restaurant
located in the Marina Bay, Richmond.
The intention of this get together
was to bond and talk a little about. We exchanged stories about how our
summer was going, what our pet peeves were, what
we would like to major in, what attractions we would like to see while
in the East Coast, and we got some history lessons as well. While we
were there, Ms. Maher pointed out a familiar face, someone who
volunteered at the nearby Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front National
Park. We got to meet Mary Torres, an original Rosie, who happened to be at the restaurant with us. She was very sweet and told us to come by to the National Park one day and ask for her. After that encounter, Ms. Maher told us about the park right next door and how
women went above and beyond during the war while the men were out in
battle. Hearing about how
women contributed to the US during WWII and meeting an original Rosie really tied in to what the Women
& Leadership course will be focusing on.
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| The Brown cohort poses with Mary Torres, one of the original Rosies at the Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front National Park in Richmond. |
The scenery was beautiful and the food was exquisite! To start things off, we ordered deep fried squid and crunchy bruschetta toast with tomatoes and garlic. For my main course, I ordered the Spaghetti al Pomodoro with fresh tomatoes and meatballs, with a delicious Italian strawberry soda to drink. For dessert, I had a wonderful key lime tart with whipped cream. Everyone enjoyed their food.
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| All smiles with the Brown Cohort and Menbere! |
After
we finished stuffing our faces, we made our way to leave the
restaurant, when we ran into the owner of the restaurant and struck up a
conversation with her. We told Menbere Aklilu about how we were heading
to visit the East Coast this summer as part of the Ivy League
Connection. Menbere was overwhelmed with happiness and told us just how
proud she was of us. She truly made an impression on me as a very
positive, kind individual. She invited us to visit her again at her
restaurant another time so she could introduce us to her
etiquette-teaching lunch event, where she teaches young people the
fundamentals of dining. Her affectionate and charming personality really
struck a chord with me, and I ended up doing a bit of research on her. I
found out just how much of a woman in leadership she is! A
philanthropist and successful business woman of color, Menbere is also
an excellent public speaker! I watched her give an incredible
commencement speech to grads at Holy Names University on Youtube.
Menbere's personal story of how she achieved many milestones across her
life is truly an inspirational one. I look forward to seeing her again
some time.
Overall, this
afternoon was filled with good conversation, great company, and
delicious food! Hearing about the Rosy the Riveter program and meeting
such an excellent entrepreneur such as Menbere made me realize that
Women & Leadership is everywhere. I look very forward to taking a
course this summer which focuses on something that really interested me
today.
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