With the theme “The Power of Me,” Sequoia Charter School presented the 2nd Annual Young Women’s Conference Friday at the Child and Family Center.

The day-long event featured speakers, drumming and self-defense workshops, and experiential activities for 25 girls ranging in age from 14 to 18 who attend the William S. Hart Union School District school.

According to Brandi Davis, Principal of Sequoia Charter School, the goal of the event is to promote resilience, self-esteem, and healthy interpersonal relationship skills that equip students with life-long success.

“The composition of this conference is to support women embracing themselves as individuals and overcoming some other challenges they have been presented with, emotionally as well as educationally, and providing them a frame of reference and a skill set to move forward in their lives and overcome some of those obstacles,” Davis said.

The conference’s goals were to direct the girls to be future focused and to help them manage social, emotional and interpersonal concerns that could otherwise impact them.

“I’m looking forward to this conference to boost self-esteem and give ourselves the power that we deserve, said Melissa Castillo, a junior at the school. “With society and media and all these things out there right now, they tend to kind of lower down women and suppress them. So I’m looking forward to really getting a lot out of this and put it into practice.”

The girls sat at five different tables with a centerpiece representing the five letters of the conference’s theme – POWER. The centerpieces each read, “I am Positive,” “I am Original,” “I have Wisdom,” “I am Educated,” and “I am Radiant.”

“I think all women should know how important they are,” said Sequoia student Maddie Hall. “Having stronger confidence in yourself, knowing that you’re here for a reason and you’re here to succeed, and there are so many people here (at Sequoia) that want you to succeed that they’ll do anything they can to help you. This conference leads to that.”