Practicing Leadership is a three-week blog series featuring members of our Youth Advisory Council as well as participants and mentors from the Learning to Lead™ program. The series explores how young women leaders are managing during COVID-19 as they navigate disruption in routine, maintain social connections, and put their leadership into practice at home and in their communities.
As we continue to navigate the COVID-19 crisis, many of us are finding new ways to care for ourselves and loved ones. With many regular activities restricted or cancelled, members of the Minerva team have been embracing opportunities to escape into lighthearted entertainment or dig into a good read.
We’re always open to recommendations, so we asked our Learning to Lead™ participants what they are binge watching at the moment. We also asked for ideas for books and resources to check out.
Here’s what they suggested.
What are you binge-watching right now?
- Rupaul’s Drag Race Season 12. What a show. Jay, L2L 2019
- Feel Good on Netflix. I’m also listening to Ologies. It’s a comedic science podcast by Alie Ward. Liv, L2L 2019
- Scandal. Despite all the crazy things that happen in the show, the main character, Olivia Pope, is an inspiring, hardworking and successful leader. Rosemary, L2L 2018
- Gilmore Girls (for the third time). Michelle, L2L 2017
- Tiger King. It is strangely addicting and a great show to watch on Netflix Party with some friends. Malika, L2L 2019
- By the end of this pandemic, I hope to learn a thing or two about cooking, so I’ve been watching MasterChef as a way to motivate myself to cook! Romina, L2L 2019
- The Office! This show never fails to put a smile on my face. Monika, L2L 2017
- Feminists: What Were Thinking? on Netflix. An amazing documentary that interviews feminist leaders from the 1970s and explores their lives and thoughts through their experiences with feminism. Becca, L2L 2019
What are you reading?
- Becoming by Michelle Obama. Riya, L2L 2017
- We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Her arguments in the book are clear and direct, radiating with a great, nuanced sensibility and a hearty humour to go along with it. Mandy, L2L 2017
- Moxie by Jennifer Mathieu. It’s an empowering story of high school girls fighting rape culture in their school. Alyana, L2L 2018
- A website by the UN Women with an interactive timeline that explains female empowerment and women’s activism from the year 1840 to today. Becca, L2L 2019
Over to you. Are you finding you have more or less time right now for entertainment? For an escape, are you looking to books, television, podcasts or music? Are you drawn more to light or inspirational content?
Content for this blog series was collected between April 2 and April 9, 2020. Some responses were edited for clarity and brevity, but core messaging was retained.
Learning to Lead™ is an interactive leadership program for Grade 11 girls. All program costs are covered by donors and sponsors who believe in the leadership potential of youth. We are grateful for the support we have received in 2020 from Shaw, RBC, PwC, FLUOR, Cottonwood Foundation, Enbridge and many individual donors.
