Review: Women possess qualities to lead

Mandie Craven
Staff Writer
April 22, 2004, Page 5

Women’s Rights activist Sarah Weddington shared her personal experiences in leadership positions with Doane students and the Crete community Tuesday evening.
“I believe leadership is the ability and willingness to leave your thumbprint on something that is important to you,” Weddington said.
A comfortable atmosphere was felt as the audience entered the auditorium. Weddington used anecdotal references throughout her conversation with the audience. With the addition of eye contact, minor giggles could be heard throughout her speech.
Weddington went to law school in Austin, Texas, where she was one of only five women in her class.
She served in the Texas House of Representatives and then in the White House, as the General Council of Agriculture under President Jimmy Carter.
Weddington’s biggest claim to fame is arguing the winning side of Roe v. Wade in the U.S. Supreme Court. Weddington described how she felt during that time and how it helped mold her into the leader she is today.
Weddington gave insightful words of advice of how to become a better leader, using examples from her life. She referred to a ski trip she took where, when she got to the bottom of a hill without falling, an instructor told her: “The only people who are ever good will always go faster than they can control. But those who fall down will learn better.”
“I like practice,” she said. “It means you don’t have to be perfect.”
Weddington said she became a leader in women’s issues primarily because they were limiting and they were interesting to her.