Meet Liz Yale; she’s the force behind Bucknell’s newest all-women’s housing option, Athena. Navigating college as a female can prove to be quite difficult, but this hardworking senior is determined to change that. Already empowering women across our campus, Liz has undoubtedly left her mark on Bucknell.
Tell us about your new housing establishment, Athena.
Athena is an all women’s living community housed in Vedder Hall with a focus on personal and leadership development. Athena seeks to help the women of Bucknell, both on and off the hall, navigate what it means to be your truest and most complete self in a culture that can put immense pressure on us.
What motivated you to start an all-women’s housing facility?
A few different things, really, including how “normal” some of Bucknell’s flaws and cultural problems had become. I recognized our campus’s need to empower our women from interactions with friends and my then first-year residents. I also realized the effect that a positive living community can have on its residents, and wanted to foster an atmosphere for that.
Have you worked in conjunction with anyone else on campus?
Absolutely. First and foremost, the Office of Residential Education and Fraternity & Sorority Affairs and the Office of Housing were pivotal in the foundation and ongoing success of Athena. Since then, we’ve worked in conjunction with the Women’s Resource Center, Student Health Services, the Career Center, the Alumni Office and Bucknell Women’s Professional Network, Psychological Services–the list goes on. We’re currently working on some awesome programming with Essential and Fran’s House for March’s Women’s HERstory Month, and have received incredible support from the campus community in general.
What do you hope to achieve through this?
Bucknell’s been the place where I’ve gotten the chance to figure out who I am as a woman. I hope the hall helps the Bucknell community change the discourse surrounding women on campus, look a little more carefully at how we identify ourselves and each other based on gender (particularly women), and ultimately support each other in being the people we want to be.
Favorites:
Class taken at Bucknell: American Poetry with Prof. Saundra Morris
Spot on Campus: Willard Smith Library in Vaughn Lit
Meal at Bucknell: Late Night during Finals
Thing about Bucknell: The support from faculty, staff, and students when you want to do something innovative. Also, Bucknell Summers.
Freeze Flavor: Bananas and Nilla Wafers.
A Few Random Facts:
Even though I’m from only an hour away, I didn’t hear of Bucknell until my mom made me visit just before my senior year of high school.
Someday I want to be brave enough to dreadlock my hair.
Sometimes I just think of something funny I could say in a situation and laugh alone (and out loud) about it.