Over 400 students from 20 school districts across Westchester attend the inaugural Westchester County International Day of the Girl conference, titled Taking Charge of Your Future, at Manhattanville College in Purchase Oct. 11, 2019. Tania Savayan, tsavayan@lohud.com

Empowerment is one of those words that means different things to different people.

To Amanda Costas, a ninth-grader at North Salem High School, "empowered is when I'm with a group of people that are all uplifting me, each other."

For her classmate Jules Ageel, "what makes me feel most empowered is seeing other women do great things."

There was plenty of opportunity to be uplifted and see women doing great things at Westchester County's inaugural International Day of the Girl conference at Manhattanville College. Costas and Ageel were two of over 450 young female participants on Friday from 24 of the county's schools.

Ferocity from Young at Arts perform at the inaugural Westchester County International Day of the Girl conference at Manhattanville College in Purchase Oct. 11, 2019. Over 400 students from 20 school districts across Westchester attended the event, titled Taking Charge of Your Future. It was hosted by the Westchester County Youth Bureau in conjunction with the Women's Leadership Institute at Manhattanville and several other groups to inspire young women to take an active role in their personal development and their future. (Photo: Tania Savayan/The Journal News)

The conference's theme was "Taking Charge of your Future." It gave girls an opportunity to hear from a dozen women leaders, including stateSenate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, and take workshops on everything from financial skills to healthy relationships to coding for video games.

"I'm really pro feminism and stuff like that," Ageel said."As soon as I heard aboutthe workshops they were doing today andthe speakers that were coming,I was really interested to hear what everyone had to say."

The conference was thevision ofDeMia Harris-Madden, executive chair of the Westchester County Youth Board. Shepulled it together in a hurry, but almost twice as many girls attended asexpected.

"We realize not every girl has the same challenge or concern. So we wanted to make thisas diverse as possible," Harris-Madden said.

"As a young lady who grew up in an urban community, we didn'thave those role models that were prominent unless they worked in our schools," Harris-Madden said. "We didn't have forums like this where you could see a judge, a reverend,a legislator, assembly person, a senator. That's what I keep in mind as I'm building."

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The girls appreciated the opportunity to be there.Shania Rivera, a senior at Alexander Hamilton High School in Elmsford, said that girls are used to being in situations where they are outnumbered by boys.

"So being with a bunch of other females who are empowered really shows uswhat is possible in our day and age today," she said.

The girls had a wide range of plans fortheir futures. Some want to be doctors or lawyers, others to make a career in performing arts. Ninth-grader Sam Jagemann aspires to the FBI.

But they all agreed that there are still obstacles for girls today.

Yorktown High School seniors from left, Dayanavi Nunez, Samantha Adjei and Kaitlyn Folchetti attend the inaugural Westchester County International Day of the Girl conference at Manhattanville College in Purchase Oct. 11, 2019. Over 400 students from 20 school districts across Westchester attended the event, titled Taking Charge of Your Future. It was hosted by the Westchester County Youth Bureau in conjunction with the Women's Leadership Institute at Manhattanville and several other groups to inspire young women to take an active role in their personal development and their future. (Photo: Tania Savayan/The Journal News)

"Gender equality has always been an issue, but it'svery disappointing to see that it's still in aspects of our daily lives," Rivera said.

Girls pointed to gaps in pay betweenmale and female athletes, the way girls are still told to look over their shoulder when walking alone, the lack of women in STEM fields and barriers to education for girls around the world as signs that girls still have a wayto go. They expressed frustration that so much focus is placed on how they look and what they wear.

"I think that girls needs to have a voice, especially with things in the government," Costas said. "There's only been male presidents, but it's good that more women are stepping up to higherroles and different positions in the government."

The firstUnited Nations declaration ever to specifically call for girls' rights was passed in 1995 at the World Conference on Womenin Beijing. The resolution to establish the International Day of the Girl Child was passed 16 years later, in December of 2011.

UN Women, a United Nations group working for gender equality,acknowledges that many of the promises made to the girls of the world 24 years ago remain unfulfilled. Their theme for 2019's Day of the Girl was "GirlForce: Unscripted and Unstoppable," meant to celebrate the achievements of girls since 1995.

The achievements of other young women are what makes Amanda Collins, a North Salem High School freshman, feel empowered. She pointed to climate activistGreta Thunberg as an inspiration.

"When I watch her, I feel so special because I feel like I can have the opportunity one day to speak about what I'm passionate about," Collins said.

What are teenage girls today passionate about? Gun violence, climate changeand racial inequality werea few of the issues the girls had on their minds, before even getting into the academic and social pressures they face.

"A lot of young ladies are under a extreme amount of pressure and stress due to social media, peer pressures, school," said Harris-Madden.

The gathering also gave participants a chance to let off steam. When the all-girl rock band from Young at Arts played Alicia Keys' "Girl on Fire" during opening ceremonies, all the girls sang along at the top of their lungs.

"I really like that it gives the girls an opportunity to come from different parts of the county and speak with each other," said Alanis Cabrera of Alexander Hamilton High. "Women's empowerment for meis basically accepting and motivating one another, despite any background differences."

Twitter: @sdgrosserode

DaMia Harris-Madden, left, executive director of the Youth Bureau, and Ariana Quinones from YWCA White Plains, speak at the inaugural Westchester County International Day of the Girl conference at Manhattanville College in Purchase Oct. 11, 2019. Over 400 students from 20 school districts across Westchester attended the event, titled Taking Charge of Your Future. It was hosted by the Westchester County Youth Bureau in conjunction with the Women's Leadership Institute at Manhattanville and several other groups to inspire young women to take an active role in their personal development and their future. (Photo: Tania Savayan/The Journal News)

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