ROCK ISLAND, Ill. — Brunching and blooming. Female students at Augustana College hearing from women leaders on campus about loving yourself and reaching past cultural differences.
The event entitled 'Shades of Beauty,' is organized by Augustana's Student Inclusion and Diversity Director Ashley Allen, and is in it's fifth year.
"We want students to know that what ever journey they find themselves in, that they can bloom where they're planted," Allen said.
One topic of discussion was handling societal beauty standards, and not allowing those to alter your image of yourself.
"You try to compare yourself to all those people, and especially in social media, you see it more often," Sophomore Rose Marmolejo said. "It just like kind of affects the way you think about yourself compared to what you look like for other people."
"We want women to say regardless of what society says about beauty, that they're beautiful, however they came into this world," Allen said.
Brunch was provided by local minority restaurants, as well as a student who runs a charcuterie making business. It included donuts, macaroons, cupcakes, pancakes, sausage, fruit and much more.