The following is a conversation between Natasha and Monika Samtani, co-founders of The Fem Word, and Laura McKinney, the first intern at The Fem Word.

Laura McKinney, Caring House Project Foundation, Haiti

Natasha Samtani:

Hey everyone. This is The Fem Word, we're your hosts Monika and Natasha Samtani, and we are so excited to have a chat today with Laura McKinney. Laura is very special to us and we'll tell you why in just a second. Hi Laura. It's so nice to see you.

Laura McKinney:

Nice to see you too. Thanks for having me.

Monika Samtani:

I wanted to give the history of our relationship with Laura. Our official launch of The Fem Word was just over a year ago in February, 2019. But like any business, there is a backstory. Months of planning and content creation goes into building a platform such as The Fem Word. And so much of it is the team you have behind you to not only launch it but to believe in it and make it successful.

Natasha:

And back in 2017, Laura became our first summer intern, which is so crazy to think about. But at the time it wasn't even called The Fem Word. Laura, do you remember what it was called?

Laura:

I don't!

Natasha:

Isn't that crazy. It's like ancient history.

Monika:

It just feels like forever ago. Right?

Natasha:

It was called She Empowered. We had crazy brainstorming sessions. We were like, what should it be called? I'm so happy we changed it.

Monika:

That's so funny that you didn't even remember. It's just because The Fem Word is so cool. It doesn't even matter what it was called before.

Laura:

The brand is so strong it just got lost from my memory.

Natasha:

So you came on board and dove right into what we were trying to build and we did our first interviews with some pretty cool women that summer as well.

Monika:

I can't believe that was three years ago. And Laura, since then, you've had some pretty major achievements in your own life, including becoming the student body president for Penn State University. How amazing is that? Tell us about how that happened for you over at school.

Laura:

Of course! It was such a journey to get to that point. It was something I never expected coming into college. I didn't go in with the goal to become student body president. In fact, far from it. I was just trying to survive in Pennsylvania coming from Florida. It was way too cold for me. I came from a really small school in Florida and I went to a huge state school, so I really was just trying to take it one step at a time. And I kind of got bit by the bug of service and really wanted to serve the community of Penn State because I enjoyed it so much. So I joined student government on a really small level and enjoyed my experience with it, interacted with the community and then grew within the organization.

And then my junior year, the opportunity presented itself to run for student body vice president. That was very unexpected. I was not expecting to be asked by the person who's running for president to be vice president. And I sat on it and thought about it for weeks and finally said, okay, why not? And I felt like that was almost like an internship of learning about the position of president. Then by the time my senior year was about to roll around, I thought to myself, there's only one opportunity in your life that you'll get to say, I'm running for student body president. Whether I win or lose, it's an experience that I can only have once in my life, and that's a rare opportunity. I knew I was really passionate about the work, and I knew I was passionate about the university community. So I went for it, got it, and it was a whirlwind of a year. It definitely ended just as crazy and unexpectedly as it started with everything that happened with COVID-19. Trying to handle that from a student perspective was definitely something I didn't foresee, but it made me a stronger leader in the end.

Monika:

You talked about the whirlwind of an experience, not only because of how it started, but how it ended as well - with the quarantine and COVID-19 in our lives. Give us just one of the highlights of what that experience was like for you and what did you hope to bring to the students as your legacy?

Laura:

Yeah, so from the beginning, I worked really hard to kind of pinpoint issues that students were talking about but maybe weren't as amplified as they should be. So something that I really put a lot of effort into from the beginning of my term was student poverty, which is something that not a lot of people talk about, but it's something that I was passionate about. Basically students are choosing, do I buy a book or do I buy my food? Do I pay my rent or do I go to class and get the materials? And I think a student shouldn't have to make that choice. When they're going to school, they should be able to learn freely. So working on resources with the university administration and trying to find funding to help those students in need was a big priority.

Another thing that I worked on was mental health and wellness and really honing in on the concept of holistic wellness. I think mental health is definitely something that the stigma is going down about. People are talking about it. But there’s also the holistic wellness approach of okay, mental health, but also wellness. How do we incorporate that and why that is also so important? So that was definitely a priority. And then a little passion project of mine that I worked on for two years was getting free menstrual products throughout campus and we got them in some very high traffic buildings and just talked about period poverty. That was something that I was really proud to see come to fruition by the end of my term.

Monika:

All that plus doing regular schoolwork. Oh my goodness.

Natasha:

That's incredible. Laura. So impressive.

Monika:

Do you want to intern for us again or work for us? (laughter)

Natasha:

Speaking of which, you just graduated from school and of course at such a crazy time in recent history when the world as we know it feels like it's come to a standstill. I mean life goes on, but it feels like a lot of our lives have kind of slowed down, for some people. We're just curious, how have you dealt with this situation personally, going through this experience that hundred of thousands of students are going through right now all across the country and the world?

Laura:

So just starting from the beginning of when everything broke out here in the U.S., I came home for spring break to South Florida with some friends and we were expecting to have a normal time, great time. I never ended up going back to school. All my stuff is still up there. I still have to move out and do all of that. When it hit, I was still my position of president. And so I was privy to information and conversations about students who were really being affected by it, whether it's mental health, financially, academically, the transition to online learning is not easy for a lot of people. So that was definitely something that I was facing myself as a student, trying to figure out how to make that transition and adapt to that lifestyle. But then I was also inundated with emails from students saying, hey, I don't have a great home environment and I'm trying to go on my classes and do my homework in the parking lot of a Burger King to try to get WiFi. People are trying to take their exams, get a good GPA, and get their jobs. So it was really eye opening to just see how diverse the university community was and not being able to have equal access to their academic rights really. So that was interesting. And then on a more personal note, I had my head down trying to finish school, trying to get the best grades possible, and then finish out my term as president. Then once that wrapped up, I've just found myself sitting here in shock, like, oh gosh, I went through that and now I have to shift gears.

For the past couple of years I've had my sights set on New York City to go work there. I had some job interviews all lined up in the month of April and they all got postponed or moved virtually. Some jobs said, hey, we're actually closing all of our applications right now. We'll reopen it back in the fall probably. It's tough for me, for someone who definitely wants to get to work and was really excited to move to New York. But I'm in the same boat as so many people. I feel lucky to still have contacts reaching out to me and just saying hang tight we'll get to you when things start to heal a little bit. But in the meantime I've been trying to find things that I'm passionate about to work on and help the current situation.

Monika:

So you're keeping positive by knowing that you're in a decent situation. You're with your family and hopefully all the job prospects will still work out. But you talked a little bit about mental health, especially with the student body and so many people dealing with this as well. How are you that point person, if at all, for anyone in the student body that may not be in the same situation as you? What are you saying to help them keep positive?

Laura:

A lot of people that are reaching out to me were graduating seniors, and at the time of panic saying, oh your whole senior year and all the things you've been looking forward to for those four years are getting pulled out from under you. People were feeling a lack of closure, a lack of ownership over their experience. And I would tell them, focus on the three and a half years that you did have instead of the couple months that you didn't have. That's been the mindset that I've been trying to go in with. Not the things that I lost, but rather all the good things that I did experience.

On a deeper level with other students who maybe aren't seniors and who are facing some pretty severe mental health experience, I've been able to redirect them to university resources like our counseling and psychological services and our student care and advocacy things that we have at Penn State. Because I know I can only give advice, but I'm not professionally equipped. And I don't want to steer someone in the wrong direction. But being a listening ear and just saying, I hear you, I hear what you're saying and I am sorry that you're going through that. Just offering a word of positivity, I think focusing on the good things, but what you're going through is not an easy thing and you don't need to bury that. I think that was the biggest thing for telling people it's okay and it's normal to feel what you're feeling, to feel that panic and to feel that uncertainty. You don't have to feel weak for feeling those things.

Monika:

I mean, it's a time of uncertainty for so many. I think those positive messages really help. This is The Fem Word with Monika and Natasha Samtani and we're speaking with Laura McKinney, our very first intern and someone who has remained part of our TFW family since its inception. I know from our time together, Laura, that giving back has always been really important to you. There is a project that's been part of your life since you were young. The Caring House Project Foundation. Can you tell us about that?

Laura:

Yes, of course. I'd love to. The Caring House Project Foundation was founded by my wonderful parents in 1998, the year I was born. They have instilled in me since I was really young that if you are entrusted with a lot, you're expected with a lot. It was something that as I grew up, I saw my family be very involved with not turning a blind eye to those in need and actually making the effort to go to people who were struggling. As I've grown up, I've been really lucky to be an executive board member of the Caring House Project and have conversations with my family as they’re thinking about kind of phasing out and handing the reins to me. It's something that I definitely want to take on in the future and expand.

It's been something really exciting look to the future with. But right now I proposed that we do some work with COVID-19 in Haiti because there's a lot going on here in the U.S. And we're not really hearing about Haiti or some underdeveloped countries around the world. I know that we have a good base and a lot of good connections over in Haiti that can help us pinpoint exactly what people need over there. So for the past month I've been really proud to be working with our partners over in Haiti to help develop some donation systems which people here in the U.S. and around the world, our friends and donors, of the Caring House can help give back.

Natasha:

And what are the more specific needs of the people in Haiti right now during COVID-19?

Laura:

So when talking with our partners, hygiene kits is huge because sanitation is already a problem over there. Now people don't have the resources. So hygiene kits and hand washing stations actually are a bit more complicated than they seem because you need the clean water, which is also not that available. Food is huge right now because prices are going up with everything that's being delayed and because of the ripple effect of the virus. Also materials for making masks. It's really interesting. I was talking to one of our partners and she actually has this whole room and section, socially distant of course, but it's of these Haitian women who are making masks for a bunch of communities. So I thought that was really special and empowering to hear that they took that initiative to help their community.

Natasha:

I mean, it's amazing, at The Fem Word, we do believe we have the responsibility to tell stories of women like yourself who are global citizens. You're contributing not only to the Penn State community, but also you're looking even further. You say yourself that we should not only be aware of what is going on in the world at this time, but also lend a helping hand as friends to those around the world. How and where do people who want to help find the Caring House Project? How can they get involved and help you out?

Laura:

You can find it at chpf.org. That is the website to donate. You just do that chpf.org/donate, right now the biggest thing that we can do is donate. But if not spread the word, and share online saying, hey, this is the Caring House Project Foundation. They've been around since1998, and they have built since then 29 self-sustainable villages in Haiti. They're definitely on the track to help as many people as we can so just spreading the word is the biggest thing.

Monika:

It's interesting because normally you go every year to Haiti, but even though you can't be there, even though we all are unable to travel as we used to or go to a place and physically be there where we want to help, that doesn't mean that we can't be connected in some way or fashion. I think what's unique about our situation is that we've found a way to connect globally as well. And that's what you're doing.

Laura:

Absolutely. It's tough not to be able to be there and be more hands-on and we haven't actually been able to go for about the past two years because of the government unrest over there and safety concerns. But we're hoping that in the future we will be able to go over there and connect in person, but we're doing our best to connect, like you said, virtually.

Monika:

You're wonderful Laura, and we're really proud of all of your achievements and happy to say that you are always going to be considered part of our team. We're really excited to see you thrive. Thank you so much for spending some time with us.

Laura:

Thank you so much. It means the world to talk to you guys.

Natasha:

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Laura McKinney, Penn State Student Body President and Philanthropist, South Florida