Domestic Violence Prevention-75 Minutes to Empowerment

Invited by Dr. Olga Tsoudis, Residential Faculty and Dean of Students, Laura A. Dulgar, I recently delivered a Workshop for Estrella Mountain Community College Students. I gave my presentation on Empowerment during this year’s Domestic Violence Prevention Month. Here are a few highlights of my 75 minutes to make my difference.

“How it has been for me.”

After creating the roadmap: “How it has been for me.” “How I want it to be.” “What it will take from me,” I asked them to close their eyes and raise their hands if they had experienced or witnessed domestic abuse. Many hands were raised. Then with examples, straight talk, some humor, and experiential simulations, I created the possibility that they could be the most empowered person they wanted to be regardless of any negative situation – including those of abuse. I chose not to delve too deeply into the horrific, but rather to give them tools to use to bust through to greater confidence, self-esteem, and personal power.

Create the experiences you want

I shared the “Seven Super Powers” that every person has. One is our ability to challenge the beliefs we have that don’t work to create our personal power. Because a belief is something that we hold to be true and act as if it is, it is changeable. By challenging our beliefs that don’t produce the results we want, like a bad habit, we can put a new belief in its place. We also have beliefs that work. Knowing and appreciating them gives us positive reinforcement and boosts our ability to produce the quality of life that we truly want. Another Super Power I demonstrated is our ability to use our words to create the experiences we want. For example, depending on whether we say “I have to…” or “I chose to” before a task will determine the feeling we create within ourselves.

Being empowered takes owning one’s power, saying “No!” and meaning it, knowing how you want to be treated and why, knowing how you want to treat others, taking actions that align with your personal value, and empowering others.

It was an honor to spend the 75 minutes with the students of Estrella Community College. I was inspired by the goals they shared about their futures and their attentive participation.