Young Women for America: Faith and freedom

By Megan Deets

Sanctity of life, support of Israel and religious liberty are some of the core issues that Young Women for America stands for. Young Women for America (YWA) strives to keep young women informed about current events and how they relate to their religious beliefs. 

Olivia Hickam, a junior Political Science major and the vice president for YWA, explained why an organization like this is important for women to participate in. 

“In such a male-dominated field such as politics, it’s important to have women [see that] they have a voice in the community,” Hickam said. 

YWA is a nationwide organization with over 36 chapters. After some interest meetings last school year, Cedarville’s on-campus chapter launched this fall.

The org meets every other Monday at 6:30 p.m. Some of the meetings are topic nights where one of the officers talks about one of the core issues. After the presentation, the members of the org have a discussion about the topic. Other meetings are community-building events like making baby baskets for Dayton Right to Life.

Jenna Habegger, a junior Primary Education major and the events coordinator for YWA, stresses the importance of students being able to biblically think through their beliefs about what is happening around the world.

“We base all our discussions on Scripture,” Habegger said. 

From September 11-13, the YWA officers attended the three to four day YWA National Leadership training in Washington D.C. They heard from a variety of speakers, including Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, Senator Marsha Blackburn and Secretary of Education Linda McMahon.  

On the plane to D.C, the YWA officers received the news of Charlie Kirk’s assassination. At the leadership training, they interacted with Penny Young Nance, the CEO of Concerned Women for American, and others who knew Kirk well. Being around those personally affected by the tragedy showed the officers what it means to grieve in unity, something they desire to do within their YWA chapter.

In the next few weeks, YWA plans to have Jena Powell, a former Ohio state representative, speak on biblical femininity. Next semester, the daughter of the founder of Concerned Women for America, will speak about that organization.  

YWA desires for young women to join with others and make a difference in our country by standing up for what they believe in. 

Habegger said, “I think it’s really cool when we come together just as women.”

Megan Deets is a freshman Professional Writing and Information Design student. Some of the things that she loves are new notebooks, fresh fruit and musicals.