PLEN Power: Rawan’s Experience at the Fall 2022 Health Policy Seminar

I believe that success could be achieved in life through hard work and
attempting to risk our comfort for the sake of gaining new knowledge. For
that reason I applied to PLEN; public health policy and the process of
making them is certainly a new field for me that I don’t necessarily have
much interest in. However, as a global citizen who is fully aware of my
responsibility towards the world and the members of the community, it is
my role to enhance my knowledge about the ways in which I can improve
people’s living. It is a basic human right to gain and be provided with good
healthcare and services.

PLEN was a great opportunity for me to be in an environment
surrounded by a lot of people who want to bring a change to this world
through public policy. PLEN provided me with an opportunity to meet
multiple speakers who have been involved in this area and proved to be
successful. It was very interesting to listen to these women who overcome
multiple obstacles and haters to prove that women are a strong, if not the
strongest part of society. It has been my honor to network with symbols of
success and determination.

Moreover, PLEN taught me to be brave and to never count myself out. I
always have a chance if I try to get it. I’m enough for everything and
anything, I have to believe in myself, women and change; then it happens.
PLEN provided me with training on how to shout out and make my voice
herald between enormous numbers of voices; which I surely believe is
crucial. People tend to always take the easy path and assume that they are
not qualified enough for tasks. Thus they don’t try and they don’t take
each and each opportunity they encounter. Stepping out of one’s comfort
zone is a way of learning.

In this seminar, I also had the opportunity to stimulate policy makers
and had 2 hours to face all the changes they face and resolve them
working together with a group of powerful people. We discussed, talked
and listened to each other. We tried to make the best out of the resources
in our hands for the good of people and humanity, which maybe was
slightly different than it is reality. But this how pictured our dream
change in the policy making world. It should be for people people first.
It was so delightful to live and be a part of such an experience.

As a college student, I appreciate PLEN for connecting me to
professional life; it was a great transition to me. I felt that I lived within
my dream career for three days. PLEN was not only a 3-days experience, but
it provided with life long friends and connections. Meeting all these
powerful women who are full of compassion and kindness has brightened
my soul and empowered me.