Chloe Burdette
Editor in Chief
Lesley, so great to see you! I am so excited to interview you today!
So excited to be here! Thanks for choosing me!
Firstly, I wanted to talk about your I.S., it is such an interesting topic. What is your I.S. about? Give us a glimpse.
I created a financial literacy workshop for college-aged women, ages 18 to 22, to be able to help them understand the relationship between spending, saving and investing. I had a workshop in February on Microsoft Teams. Twenty-two participants came to the workshop and I had a great response from everyone who participated. Up until the workshop, my advisor and I had been planning and creating the workshop for a whole semester in order for it to be crucial and beneficial for my I.S. I also had to do interviews with people who have done workshops before to plan it accordingly!
What was the workshop about? What did the workshop focus on?
There is the idea that women are more intimidated by money and are not good with “money,” just simply because they identify as a woman. Because I disagree with this stereotype, I’m trying to debunk that completely — my point is it’s really not innate for women to be conservative with money and to be afraid of money, we are just conditioned to think that about ourselves! To add, most people tend to shy away from enhancing education for young women about money and financial literacy, and I am trying to bridge the gender gap within this subject.
I remember your Junior I.S. also focused on the idea of women empowerment and recognition in some way. Can you speak a little more on that?
Yes! My Junior I.S. was about exploring the performance of self-love on Instagram for women and by women. As you can tell, women are very dear to my heart and that’s a part of my identity I really value, so I was exploring the performance of self-love on Instagram and my Junior I.S. was inspired by a book and Instagram account called Recipes for Self-Love that was exemplary for women of all shapes, colors and sizes to love themselves regardless of how they looked or if they fit society’s idea of a “perfect” woman. Additionally, the self-love account would show a wide variety of women instead of the women all being white. The account and book were just very well-rounded and I really enjoyed spending time analyzing them and how important they are for women to see.
That is great! Your I.S. topics are really cool and seem to be connected — I look forward to reading your Senior I.S. when it is finished! After I.S. and graduation, do you have any plans?
I do, I actually just received news that I got accepted to Georgetown University for grad school. I will be studying and getting my master’s in public relations and corporate communication because that’s my field of interest!
That is so exciting, congratulations! Have you figured out the logistics for grad school yet? Roommates, when you will be moving to D.C., etc.?
Yes. Surprisingly enough, I am actually going to room with my friend Mahlet Frazer Zemedkun Cwho graduated from The College of Wooster last year. We had spoken about rooming together and both wanting to move to the D.C. area and everything just fell into place!
Wow, talk about networking and valuable friendships!
Yes! The College really emphasizes the importance of networking and personally, my network has been the most valuable asset so far in my life. Knowing people who work in topics I am interested in and even knowing people who know other significant people — you never know who you will meet that will help you in your life and in your education. I am grateful for all of the people I have met on this campus.
