With COVID-19 still present, many previously in person activities were forced to move online, and while many struggled, one program has still found a way to thrive in the virtual atmosphere.

The Titan LeadHERship program, run through the UW Oshkosh Women’s Center, moved their annual conference to a virtual course for students to take through Canvas Learning.

UWO senior Courtney Stubbe is an intern for the Women’s Center and is coordinating this year’s virtual program.

“This program wasn’t usually online, it was always in person at a conference,” Stubbe said, “Setting up a Canvas page for the first time, I definitely got more respect for professors.”

Normally, the LeadHERship conference runs on one Saturday in March, where all of the material is covered that day for those who attend, but due to pandemic restrictions it moved completely online.

Even with the challenge of moving online, the conference is still offering learning opportunities, which Stubbe said she appreciated.

The program’s main goal is to help participants gain a deeper understanding of women empowerment and leadership for themselves and other women-identifying people in their lives.

It provides many opportunities to learn what it looks like to be empowered, and allows for discussion posts to learn about how other people gain empowerment.

There are many elements of the program, from discussion posts that allow people to talk about how they feel about the issues discussed in the online events to videos that help participants gain a further understanding of each program.

Stubbe said her favorite aspect of the program was watching people gain an understanding of women empowerment and connecting with one another.

“I’ve gotten a few emails that have said ‘I felt so empowered after this event,’” Stubbe said, “I think that’s one of the biggest things, seeing what they get out of it.”

This is exactly the goal of the program: to make individuals feel empowered and transfer what they have learned into their daily lives.

The program, while online, is still thriving and empowering others through leaders like Stubbe who created fun discussion posts, activities, and videos.