Reported By Women: August 31
Our team ventured all around Cincinnati for this week's Reported By Women. From learning about the art of eating well to Xavier University's welcome for first generation college students, we've got it all for you. Read on to hear what the incredible women on our team experienced this week!
ESSEN: The Art of Eating Well
Reporting and photography by Kali Robinson.
Aspiring plant-based takeout kitchen concept ESSEN hosted a soft launch event promoting their upcoming Indiegogo campaign. Founders Patricia Bittner and Lida Bilokur, along with head chef Yasel López and 80+ attendees, enjoyed conversations with Matty Colston (sommelier and natural wine expert), Jessica Hemmer (fashion and product designer, owner of Hemmer Design), and Cody Gunningham (fine artist and designer). Everyone knows the best spot at a party is the kitchen, so we gathered around NOLI Modern Italian Kitchens’ three showrooms to chat about art, food, wine, and the delicious intersection of all three.
Dear Yous - A Letter-Writing Campaign to Detainees
Reporting and photography by Angie Lipscomb.
"Thousands of immigrants are locked away in detention centers across California."
Dear Yous is a letter-writing campaign created by a former detainee named Grace to provide a vehicle for people to send letters of encouragement and hope to detainees. The detainees are immigrants that are living in detention centers across the United States while they wait for an answer on their documentation papers. The letters serve as a beacon of hope for the individuals while they go through this process. For more information on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), please visit Freedom For Immigrants.
While in a California detention center for over a year, Grace found that letters of support from friends and family were her only connection to the rest of the world. These letters gave her hope for life after detention, even when she didn't know what that would be.
Dear Yous connects people through their website, as well as letter-writing events that will be taking place in Cincinnati.
Xavier University’s Center for Diversity and Inclusion’s Smooth Transitions
Reporting by Ellen Huggins. Photography by Liz Rosevear.
“We are all more alike than we are unalike.” –Council President Pro Tem and City Council Member Tamaya Dennard, keynote speaker
Every year, Xavier University’s Center for Diversity and Inclusion puts on a big welcome for the incoming first generation college students. They invite members of the community, Xavier alumni, faculty, and staff. While I was not a first-generation college student myself, I could see the impact of having an abundance of resources in the room who are there to support the students’ next big leap.
We were able to talk to many of the girls in the room about the importance of lifting each other up and how Cincinnati as a city can play a interesting role. They were enthusiastic in telling us what they were planning to major in and the excitement of taking on their new lifestyle. It was inspiring to see how put together and outgoing the group in the room was as they listened readily and asked thought provoking questions.
There was no better way to round out the event than with keynote speaker and Council President Pro Tem and City Council Member Tamaya Dennard, who sparked a chilling conversation around what new students can expect from Cincinnati – the good and the bad.
“When I went to school, I was a first-generation college student – the first person in my family to graduate college,” she said. Having someone in the room to identify with had to make the students in the room feel at ease, especially with someone as accomplished and poised as Tamaya.
Stay tuned for more Reported By Women every Friday! Have a local event you'd like us to cover? Give us a shout at hello@womenofcincy.org.