AAUW board members (from left) Jeanne Ginneven, Carol Freeland, Karen Vinyard, Paula Mathews, guest speaker Keanna Slayton, Kim Townsan, Mary Eliades and president Sue Luerssen. (Paula Alan photo)

The Hot Springs/Hot Springs Village branch recently held its last meeting of the 2018-2019 year by hosting Keanna Slayton, an AAUW scholarship recipient and attendee at the recent National Conference for College Women Student Leaders (NCCWSL), held at the University of Maryland.

AAUW sponsors the conference annually, with the stated goal of providing “an essential experience for any woman serious about creating meaningful impact on her campus, mobilizing her community, and preparing for personal and professional success after graduation.”

The local branch was able to fund Slayton’s trip through the sale of luminaries, which were displayed throughout Hot Springs Village on one evening last November. Aaron Johnson, another scholarship recipient, was also able to attend, with the assistance of the AAUW state organization.

Slayton, an African American woman, told members about some of the obstacles she had faced in her high school and college years. She grew up in a military family, living all over the world, and then ended up in a local high school when her family moved back to the Hot Springs area. She confronted racism in the high school, but moved on to become an ambassador for both National Park College and Henderson State University. She got married her senior year in college and again faced discrimination because of her marital status (not the “ideal” student).

Slayton described her experience at NCCWSL, where she attended a workshop on gender inequality and heard from keynote speaker Roxane Gay, by saying she was amazed at the diversity of the attendees, people “with goals and dreams, who want to give back to the community.” In other words, people just like Keanna Slayton.

Slayton said her goal is to create an institute “to bring political awareness to young women in Arkansas,” to encourage and empower them to make a change.