Student Activist to Speak at Emma Willard School

TROY, NY (09/19/2008)(readMedia)--

How do young women use the power of their intellect and the energy of their passion to make positive change in today’s world?

On September 27, Emma Willard School will host a symposium, “Women, Power, and Possibility,” that will explore this question. The symposium, the second in a series, will consist of a panel of young women already making their mark around the globe. They will examine the issues and contemplate the many possibilities that emerge when women translate their beliefs into action with commitment and conviction.

Sierra Murdoch, a member of Emma Willard’s class of 2005, will serve on the panel for the symposium. She is a student at Middlebury College, majoring in environmental studies and conservation biology. She is a part of the Middlebury Sunday Night Group (SNG), a non-hierarchical, open forum devoted to enacting solutions to global warming and considered nationally to be a model for college activist organizations. Sierra has also assisted fellow Middlebury students in planning national demonstrations, such as Step it Up. In 2007, she helped found and lead a campaign called Climate Summer, committed to making climate change solutions a priority for New Hampshire voters and presidential candidates in the 2008 elections. Learn more at www.350.org.

Seating for this event is limited and available on a first-come, first served basis. RSVP to Jill Smith at (518) 833-1787 or email jsmith@emmawillard.org. For more information about the symposium, “Women, Power, and Possibility,” visit www.emmawillard.org/symposium or contact Linda Passaretti at lpassaretti@emmawillard.org, (518) 833-1899.

Founded in 1814, Emma Willard School is the oldest existing school in the U.S. to offer an academic curriculum exclusively to girls. Emma Willard currently educates 311 students from 28 states and 23 foreign countries. To access an online media kit, visit www.emmawillard.org/media.