Third-annual Curate Summit cultivates community among campus women

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Third-annual Curate Summit cultivates community among campus women
Sophomore Ingrid Dornbirer, senior Greta Donbirer, and sophomore Mary McGovern (left to right) pose at the Curate Summit on Saturday. Courtesy | Ingrid Dornbirer

More than 170 women heard talks on topics like dating, creativity, and women’s health at the third Curate Women’s Conference Summit on Jan. 29 in the Searle Center. 

I loved all the moments when the women were together in the same place – registration, lunch, opening and closing sessions,” Student Activities Program Assistant Riley Arlinghaus said. “It was so rewarding to see their joy and excitement to connect with the speakers.”

Women received “swag bags” to fill with handmade greeting cards, scrunchies, stickers, and notebooks upon arrival at Curate at 9 a.m. They enjoyed Checker Records coffee and breakfast pastries. Then, women gathered for the Kick Off where Dean of Women Rebecca Dell said a prayer to send off attendees to a variety of break-out sessions. For lunch, attendees ate Handmade sandwiches and interacted with the speakers before attending two more break-out sessions.

Ten of the break-out session speakers returned from previous years, while four were new to the Curate Summit.

“We’ve noticed attendees are more likely to pick speakers they know, so we tried to strike a balance of returning speakers and new faces,” Arlinghaus said.

Admissions Director of Field Recruitment and speaker Jenny Pridgeon led a break-out session called “Friends: So Much More Than a ’90s Sitcom.”

“From my break-out session on friendship, I hope the participants were given helpful tools to know the difference between healthy and unhealthy friendships, how to celebrate friendships that are ending as being beautiful in their time, and given tools to prioritize friendships that both sides want to continue even through life’s changes,” Pridgeon said.

Pridgeon said the Curate summit is important because it prepares women to be who they hope to become.

“This season of life will not last forever,” Pridgeon said. “Goals you set now, or habits you begin to establish during these four years, can have a lasting effect on the rest of your life.”

She said Curate provides women with crucial mentorship opportunities.

“Sometimes you just need one person in your life who is a little bit further along in life who typifies the kind of person you admire to encourage you to carry on through challenging or discouraging times,” she said. “Curate is a chance to see those sorts of people.”

Pridgeon said it is encouraging for students to see their peers seeking the same things they value.

Jen Lutz, manager of Penny’s Coffee, shared some relationship wisdom she said all women should know in her talk “Dating Truths.” She said she would have loved an event like Curate as a young woman.

“In my opinion, mentorship is an important key to personal growth,” Lutz said. “And anytime women gather to learn, listen, and glean information from other women who are a little farther down the road, it’s beneficial. As a middle-aged woman, I wanted to sit in on these talks — what a treasure trove of wisdom these speakers are.” 

Lutz said she hopes women who attended her break-out session learned “you always marry the wrong person,” an idea she gleaned from pastor Tim Keller’s book “The Meaning of Marriage.”

“When you begin with that premise, then dating doesn’t have to be terrifying,” she said. “It’s not a marriage proposal or a marriage vow. You’re going out with someone to get to know them, assess their character, and see if they’re a good match. If it progresses into engagement and marriage — wonderful, but you will still have a lot of work ahead because you’re marrying a human being — warts and all.”

The day ended with a Mini Maker’s Market featuring local female artisans, including several students. Arlinghaus said the market provided women with the opportunity to “hang out and support small businesses and artisans.”

“It was fun to end the day with a casual way to mingle and shop for cute things,” Residence Life Coordinator Rachel Marinko said.

Marinko and Arlinghaus, co-organizers of Curate 2022, said they hope attendees will maintain relationships with speakers they resonated with.

“We hope the connections made between speakers and students continue after the summit,” Arlinghaus said. “Our goal is not just to have one good event but to provide mentors and resources to the women of campus. I hope ladies reach out to the speakers that impacted them with follow-up questions or a quick thank you note.”

Hillsdale is blessed to have so many good mentors interested in investing in students, Arlinghaus said.

Sophomore Marlow Canady said she has enjoyed attending Curate during her two years at Hillsdale. She said she particularly enjoyed social psychologist Kathleen Zimmerman-Oster’s break-out session entitled, “Faith, Emotional Intelligence, and The Superwoman Syndrome.”

“Dr. Zimmerman-Oster’s talk was very insightful and I learned so much about emotional intelligence and servant leadership,” Canady said. “It is an incredible blessing to see the women of campus brought together in community.”

Marinko said this year’s Curate Summit showed her how “remarkable” the Hillsdale community is.

“The fact that all these women with very busy lives took time to come support our college students is unique and so special,” she said.