Fresno City College hosted the all-day satellite feed of the 2008 Women’s Conference in the College Activities Center led on October 22 by California’s Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and his wife Maria Shriver. The event included satellite feeds of celebrities such as Jennifer Lopez, Jaime Lee Curtis, and Michael J. Fox as well as political giants, Dr. Condoleezza Rice, Madeline K. Albright and many other participants who shared their stories to empower women.

Former United States Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright stated “Women need to help other women.”

Albright next statement led to an extended discussion later on the subject by saying, “There is a special place in hell for women that don’t help others.”

Leading the discussion panels in the FCC student lounge were Business Law instructor, Nancy Holland, and the Executive director of public and legislative relations for State Center Community College District, Teresa Patterson.

Holland asked participants to discuss their impressions of the presenter’s discussion, and Patterson commented after input from the audience, “When you look at a panel of women of this stature and you look at how they brought people together from all around the world. I think it is important to bring it down to the micro level, where you and I are at,” she said.

The discussion focused on some of the statements made by Albright, who said, “The hard part is how to be active and effective without being angry.”

Holland, the first to discuss this point, said “That is kind of a difficult position to be in because you get passionate about things you really feel inside and you have to be able to balance that to get your point across without being angry.”

Cherie Blair, Human Rights Advocate and wife of former Prime Minister Tony Blair, brought up another point. She said, “For me it was a question of who do I model myself from. As an advocate, where do I find my voice? And, I learned that there were a lot of different men’s voices…I do think I made a mistake: the mistake I made was to think that I had to do it the way that men did it. I think as women, we should stand up for the fact that there are differences, that diversity is a good thing, we don’t all have to do things the same way…so find your voice and don’t be afraid for it to be a woman’s voice.”

Holland elaborated on Blair’s statement by explaining, “For the women in this room, I can honestly tell you that goes a long way…because men being looked at as aggressive and assertive and how women are looked at as being aggressive and assertive are very different and the attitude is different in finding your voice.”

There was another comment that Blair said about seeing the opportunities that are out there and seeing a situation you know isn’t right and being able to change it. That’s when Robin Walker, a business student, stood up and spoke about two local issues, The Hmong Garden and the curfew that was set a few years ago over at River Park.

Walker said, “They just needed assistance; they needed a voice because they didn’t know where to go and how to do it.”

In another portion of the forum Patterson told the audience about her voice as a woman. Patterson said that she grew up in a home watching her mother live life without being permitted to do so.

“It wasn’t until my mother had an awakening and eventually left my father and kind of created her own world and found her own voice. And I watched this woman who I considered a caged bird and I’d listen to her sing for so many years as a child. I watched her emerge,” Patterson said.

Her mother went from a traditional woman to a “very outspoken, radical…strong feminist,” said Patterson who added that she really struggled to find her voice because of that.

“I never could make up my mind, so I went from failure to failure to failure and eventually ended up flunking out of Fresno State at least three times. Finally I hit my stride…and I decided you know what I think I need to grow up.”

By then, she had two children, and she wanted to turn her life around. So she went back to Fresno City College and finished her education within a ten-year time span.

“I went from an F student on constant academic probation to a degree holder. The difference between the little girl that was very rebellious and outspoken and the woman you see today is the education. You’ll hear that education is what empowers you.”