ACTC Hosts annual Young Women LEAD Conference

Published on Oct 23, 2024

Ashland Community & Technical College was honored to host the annual Young Women LEAD conference on its Technology Drive Campus last Friday. 

The event’s mission is to transform girls’ lives through Leadership, Education, And Development. 

This is the twelfth year the conference has been offered to high school students in Ashland’s service region. 

Friday’s event welcomed Kentucky Lieutenant Governor, Jacqueline Coleman to campus for opening remarks.

“We have been blessed by female leaders who have blazed the trail for people like me to get where I am, and now it’s my responsibility to blaze the trail for you to get to where you want to go,” Coleman said. 

She encouraged the students in attendance to find their passion, get involved, and then take the lead. 

Coleman also mentioned her nonprofit organization, Lead Kentucky, which she founded in 2013.

The organization’s mission is to recruit the best and brightest college women in the Bluegrass and empower them to become the Commonwealth's next generation of leaders.

Coleman urged attendees to never underestimate their value and what they can contribute. 

“Don’t be afraid to step out and say, ‘I am the best person for this opportunity,’” Coleman said.

A keynote session from bestselling author and award-winning speaker Julie Carrier followed the lieutenant governor’s remarks. 

Carrier’s presentation encouraged those in attendance to work together as a team, to uplift one another, and to stop comparing themselves to each other. 

“Just because we made a mistake doesn’t mean we are a mistake. Just because we experience failure doesn’t mean we are a failure,” she said. 

Other sessions included a panel discussion from female leaders in STEM, including ACTC alum Katheryn Barber Roberts, and a self defense training. 

This year’s YWL conference was presented by Toyota KY, Ashland Community & Technical College, SOAR, Marathon Petroleum Company, Blue Origin, Penn Station, Members Choice Credit Union, Ashland Credit Union, Kelly Galloway Smith Goolsby, 4Imprint, First National Bank, UK Kings Daughters, Kentucky Farmers Bank, and Boyd County Public Library.