After winning first place in the Yale Women’s Leadership Initiative Essay Contest, sophomore Abigail Ho was awarded an invitation to the women’s leadership conference at Yale University and a $200 cash prize. Abigail wrote an essay prompted by female empowerment. She said, “I talked about my mom and all of the nonprofits we are a part of.” Abigail wanted to recognize her mother as an influential woman in her life for her many contributions to the community.

At the Yale conference, Abigail got to meet various inspirational women. She said, “I met a lot of pioneering female scholars. I met Marizza Delgado—she won Miss New York, but is also a data scientist.” In addition, Abigail met some amazing students. “I did meet a few people my age. I actually met this international student all the way from South Korea,” she said. An opportunity as informative as this proved unforgettable.

Abigail was given the opportunity to learn about a variety of powerful women and how they balance their lives. “It was really enlightening to hear them talk about the many different kinds of things they do and the duality they can maintain in their lives while doing so many amazing things,” Abigail said. She got to meet many people who were different from her, but were all brought together because of their accomplishments as strong women.