LEXINGTON, Virginia (WFXR) — Several nationally recognized leaders were guest speakers this week at the 13th Annual Leadership & Ethics Conference at the Virginia Military Institute.
The topic of focus was Principled Objections: Navigating Moral Challenges. The messages shared during the two-day conference included working hard, standing up for yourself, and having the courage to do the right thing even if you’re unpopular.
Lawyer and former gymnast Rachel Denhollander spoke to cadets on Tuesday about the power of speaking up. I was the first person to speak. She spoke with her Amanda Lee from WFXR in her one-on-one interview.
“It’s an incredible burden on anyone when you know something’s wrong and you desperately want to stop it, but there’s no way to see through it,” she said.
She says she decided to speak up after being silent for more than 16 years. She is now considered one of the leading voices for sexual assault victims.
“It’s not so much that they lack an internal motivation to speak up. Either they lack knowledge of how to use the system, or the system itself is not secure,” Denhollander said of Survival. said when talking about
She encourages young people to have someone they feel comfortable talking to. She says there’s still a long way to go in creating a safe environment nationwide, and it’s everyone’s responsibility to face such uncomfortable conversations.
“It’s impossible to make any kind of big change without the systems and structures that foster that change and the individuals who have the motivation within them to do the right thing,” she said.
Doing the right thing for yourself and others was the message of General Robert Kneller when he spoke on the Cameron Hall campus.
“Your example is the most powerful tool you have and the easiest to inspire those around you,” he said.
One of his key messages to the cadets here was to work hard and stick to what you got, whatever you do.
“Think of all the things you’ve gone through here to get to this point in your life,” he told the cadet. There will be more and more steps.”