In celebration of National Girls and Women in Sports Day (NGWSD), Wittenberg University will host a Pecha Kucha-style presentation from 2-4 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 9, in the Baines Conference Room of the Health, Wellness & Athletics Complex.
Celebrated each year in February, this year marks the 34th annual event inspiring girls and women to play and be active and to realize their full power. According to the NGWSD website, the confidence, strength, and character girls and women gain through sports participation are tools they need to become strong leaders in sports and in life.
Wittenberg’s event, co-sponsored by the departments of Athletics and Health & Sport Studies, will be presented by three Wittenberg professors using the Pecha Kucha style. Pecha Kucha is a style of presentation in which 20 images are shown for 20 seconds each. The slides change automatically, so the professors must sync their speech with the images. Because of this, each presentation will last exactly six minutes and 40 seconds.
Associate Professor of Health & Sport Studies Jennifer Parsons will present on women athletes in the media, Assistant Professor of Practice Sarah Jurewicz will present on Title IX and athlete equality, and Professor of Biology and Chair of Health & Sport Studies Margaret Goodman will present on a lifelong athletic life. A question-and-answer session will follow the Pecha Kucha presentations.
In addition to the Pecha Kucha presentations, Lauren Snider Thompson, Wittenberg class of 2004, will be the keynote speaker. Snider majored in education at Wittenberg and went on to earn a master’s degree in applied positive psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, where she is now a lead assistant instructor. In addition, Snider is an assistant principal at Dexter Middle School in Dexter, Michigan, the head girls basketball coach at Dexter High School, and the founder of Ascent Leadership.
“[Snider] works with college students, athletic teams, coaches, and all levels of educators,’’ said Kelly Mahlum, Wittenberg’s head women’s basketball coach. “Lauren’s life passions are centered on the reform of education programs to include teacher well-being and resilience training for all educators, to embed positive psychology into athletic coaching practices, to help empower female athletes to reach their full-potential, and to build future female leaders in both athletics and in the workplace.”
Snacks and refreshments will be provided during the presentation.
-By Faith Scully ’22, Office of University Communications
