Rafaela: Sometimes all it takes is a little encouragement. A woman I know ran for student body president two years ago. She received almost no encouragement or support during the campaign, and she finished fourth out of four candidates. She dreaded telling her brother that she came in last place, expecting him to call her a loser.

However, she was pleasantly surprised when he told her how proud he was that she had run. He said that she would be a great president and encouraged her to learn from the experience and run again. The next day, she started planning her campaign, and the following spring, she won the election. Today, she is our student body president. Hopefully, some of you will follow her example by running for or encouraging the women in your life to run for office.