announcer: follow the transition of government on c-span as president donald -- as president-elect donald trump select his cabinet. we will bring you key events as they happen without interruption. watch on-demand at www.c-span.org or listen on our free radio app. sunday, january 1, a live discussion on the presidency of barack obama. we are taking your tweets, calls, and emails during the program. author of "the presidency in black and white: race in america." in black:"democracy how raise still in slaves the american -- race still enslaves the american soul." to 3:00n-depth noon p.m. eastern on book tv on c-span2. >> this year, the reagan presidential library hosted its first young women's leadership summit in celebration of the 35th anniversary of the uncle -- of the appointment of sandra day o'connor to the supreme court. nancy mace became the first woman to graduate from the citadel in south carolina. this is over one hour. [applause] >> good morning y'all. i am super excited to be here this morning. i want to thank rebecca for the invitation to be here. i have never visited the reagan library. to be in the halls of a hero from when i was a child growing up in the 1980's, it is a real honor. it is rare that i am in a room full of women. typically in business meetings and a client setting or in the boardroom, i am the only woman, or one of very few. i have been in areas of business where there are few women. that is my life story i suppose. i am excited to be with you. take some notes. we have some great speakers. have the courage to ask questions to all the of the women we see here today. i will spend a few minutes telling my life story, because it happened before all you guys were born pretty much in the 1990's. glean something about leadership and some of the challenges we face in that role, but a handful of things that are important. first off, courage. theng the courage to be best that you can be without fear. having the courage to do the right thing, even when nobody is looking. it is important to have confidence. you will need more confidence to become a leader in this world then you have ever thought imaginable. need to have the value of hard work. you don't need to be the smartest person in the room. it doesn't take a lot of effort to look your best, speak your best, show up on time, and work hard to have others follow you in your leadership journey. lastly, i would say it takes a drop of honey badger. drop.full gallon, just a you need to be able to ignore the riffraff or negative people that come after you. the further you go up the ladder, the more you will be exposed. the more people can criticize you. the more they can come after you. more negativity there is towards you. and more people that can then pile on. i daresay stay off social media. when you're getting pummeled, don't pay attention to it. i did not grow up in the era of social media. i can't imagine what it would be like at the citadel had we have facebook. it would have been too much. , in themy story id-90's, on my 17th birthday, was in june during high school. -- junior in high school. i decided for the first and last time in my life, that i would quit. i quit high school when i was a junior. i walked out one day and said i was done. i am the daughter of a retired army general. my mother was a schoolteacher in my high school. to this day, i can't imagine how disappointed they were in the for quitting. at the time i have been bullied years by a certain member of the football team. it was physical, emotional, mental bullying. and ilm that experience to control how i felt about myself i did not have the courage to stand up for myself and to speak for myself on my behalf. and it lowered my confidence to such low levels, i did not think i could be successful at anything in life, regardless of school in athletics. i was an all-star athlete growing up. i allowed one person to affect my entire life. never again has that ever happened because of that experience. i was very blessed at the time. the principle of my high school called me into his office, and there was a special program that just started for students like myself who dropped out to get their high school diploma. school to getch college credits, so i could get my diploma instead of a ged. i did that program. because i made some choices in my life, i had to take responsibility for my actions. my parents throughout my life, but particularly in this case, stressed the importance of taking responsibility for your actions and the value of hard work. if i had to pay for college myself -- do you guys have waffle house out here? better hashbrowns, by the way. i took a job as a waitress. i waited tables at waffle house. i took a second job as a secretary in office. i went to a local tech school at night, and on the weekends in order to get my high school diploma, i did it in six months. in a record speed, i graduated from high school a year ahead of my class. i had to decide, what was i going to do when i grew up? i continued to go to this tech school for the next year. citadel, the military college of south wholina, founded in 1842, all-male54 years as an institution, decided it would open its doors to women in the summer of 1996. this decision changed my life forever. is a 1963 graduate of the center dot. -- of the citadel. he is a retired army general. he is the most decorated military officer the citadel has ever graduated in its history. he has earned every commendation except from the medal of honor. strong,tern growing up, decisive, aggressive. more than a drop of honey badger. you need that kind of chutzpah is a leader so those that follow you have confidence in. i looked up to him. my mother was always my best friend in life. the further up you go and the the of a leader you become, more important it is. your family will always be there for you. i have always had a close relationship with my mother, because she is my best friend. in the summer of 1996, the citadel decided it would admit women. on thursday i took off from work, and went down to the citadel campus. i lived about 25 miles away. i picked up an application from the school. then,not have laptop back so i think i scribbled the application in pencil. i did not have much time, because they decided in the summer. the school year started in august. there was not a lot of time to apply. i filled in everything i possibly could on my application. i looked down on friday morning and dropped off the application. immediately following the next monday, the school called me and said i had been tentatively accepted in one of the first of 4 who would enter the citadel that year. i thought, oh goodness. one of the things i had not done is tell my parents that i will be one of the first women to go to the citadel. not only that, but my parents were against women at the citadel until they decided to open their doors to women. i had a dilemma i was facing. tuesday i found my mom and talked to her. i broke the news that i had been accepted and was going to go to consider dell. i wasell or high water, going to be there in august. she said the first thing i had to do was tell my father. i was scared to death to tell him, because i knew what he was going to say. it took me one week to actually get the courage to have this conversation with my dad. i wasn't ready for what the repercussions may or may not be. he did what i thought he was going to do. he told me that i shouldn't do it, no, that i would want to quit, that it would be hard, cry, and want to come home quickly into it. i was 18-year-olds at the time. what do 18-year-olds cry, and k? everything. i told him, these are all of the reasons i want to go to this place. i want to follow in your footsteps. i want a small college, a challenging environment. i needed discipline, i knew that much. i needed more self-discipline in my life, and i had something to prove to myself. i went to the citadel having a chip on my shoulder, knowing that i was there for personal reasons. not for personal gain, but because i had to prove i could be successful in the environment when i attended. a few short weeks later after prepare, to 5 miles to after learning a real man's pushup. knees onhat means no the ground. i was ready. the first week at the citadel was called hell week. your parents drop you off at the campus, looks like a military installation. beautiful campus. hug and told me how much it was going to miss me. my father shook my hand. his final words were this, nancy, don't call home if you want to quit. just put on your shoes and start walking. away, the miles length of america, i thought quitting is not an option. i am not running a marathon to get home. and with that, i went into the citadel. the first day, they jump all of your hair -- chop all of your hair off. after my first circle, i had an inch on top. it took me a week to look in the mirror because it looks like the spitting image of my brother. very difficult. i did not have fancy nails or make up. it was a very intense environment. the third day of hell week, we had our first pt test. i felt like i needed to prepare more so than anyone else. i knew that as a woman, i would have to be twice as good to be seen as half as good in that all male environment. test, not only was it my goal to max out on the fema standards, but i had to max out on the male standards. and i did because of all the training i had done to prepare. that day, i beat out all but 4 guys on my battalion on the pt test. from there on, i started to prove that i was there not for have thegain, but to best person coming out of that experience. it changed lines while i was there. one of the cadets climate on campus -- i met on campus, he hated me. every time he stared at me, it was material. -- it was the trio. i moved to the right, his eyes would go back to the right. he would stare at me all of that time. after the pt test, i was running back to my room and was coming around a corner. halt, this man shout, mace! i sit at attention, and he comes out of the shadows. i start to freak out. i am in a dark corner, nobody can see me. he steps forward and says to me, cadet mace, i want you to promise me that i will see you get your ring, and i will see you cross the stage at graduation three years later. he only did he do that, but officiated my wedding several years later. the relationships with many of my male cadets have become lifelong relationships. i knew that by working hard, by having the courage to do the right thing at every corner, and have the confidence to be the best that i could be. i could be successful in the environment. i also learned about good and bad leadership. we are in a room full of women. i learned in that environment that we are so much tougher on each other than we are with our male friends or colleagues. my first boss out of college was a female. i always felt like she was much tougher on our female consultants than their counterparts. for the women that followed me, i did the same thing. i took pride at how fast i could get one of the other female cadets to cry because i was so tough. i learned that i had to back off injury everybody fairly. it was an important experience. the change changed who i was. 2 years ago i ran for the u.s. senate in south carolina. i raised an enormous amount of money for a first-time candidate. i did not win. i came up with 6% of the vote, very little. i learned in the process when i look and reflect on it, i do not have the confidence to be as successful as i could be because i doubted myself. listened to this negative voices. 20 years later i am still making mistakes and learning from. as you make mistakes, they are worthless if you cannot learn from those. for me, being here in sharing this with you, when you work your hardest and your best and give it all you've got in life, when you have the courage to be yourself and to do everything with your colleagues or with your friends, and when you have , jokes can go a long way in building confidence for yourself, but people looking at you as a leader. is it, nothing more. you don't have to be the smartest, just the best. that is all you need in order to cultivate your leadership style. i want to thank you all for being here this morning. i hope you guys enjoy the rest of the day. [applause] >> thank you nancy, that was amazing. i'm excited that all of the women that have come here to speak have shared these personal stories. i'm inspired by this woman that i've been admiring from afar, but recently i had the opportunity of attending museum camp. she was a mentor there. through our time together, i just knew that she needed to be here because she had a great story to share. please welcome miss monica montgomery. [applause] monica: hey friends. we are going to change the energy. clap if you are excited here today. [applause] i am super excited to see references. -- to see your faces. i needed inspiration. there were other spaces i were able to grow. i want to talk about being a game face leader. everyone say game face. a little louder, game face. now like you feel it, game face. >> game face. >> yes. we are going to talk about it. you are wearing it now. i am going to talk about how i found my game face leadership journey. my name is monica montgomery. i flew in from brooklyn, new york. i am excited to be here. i am a museum director in international keynote speaker. all i am aant of chronic, rule breaker. i should not be saying this to you, but most of the things that i have done in my life is because i have been able to push back against the establishment, against systems of oppression, against spaces that i do not feel that affirmed me. that rule breaker mentality has assumed me well. what is game face, then how can we find our leadership? i want to give you three tips for doing so. discovering your values, crafting your giveback, and honoring your identity. what is king thinks -- is game face? it is being fierce, bold, intentional, and thoughtful. it is vulnerable -- vulnerability and resourcefulness. i want you to know that leadership is not this destination, there is a journey. and you are experiencing it. your circumstances don't dictate your leadership. can lead from where you are right now, from high school, from college, all of that is valuable to building your leadership styles. game face is about protecting this image of poise, confidence, and swagger that defines your inner character and the perception your peers have about you. it is the profound impression you leave behind when you travel through space. is everyone in this room familiar with the -- with beyonce? she is again phase leader -- a game face leader. the way that she turns into sasha fierce and gives us these killer -- she gets on the stage and everybody just feels it. that is game face. it is the way that michelle obama leads with grace and poise. how she leads initiatives like "let's move" for healthy exercise. that is game face. it is how activists climb up on a flagpole to take down a symbol of tyranny like the confederate flag and rip it down because they can't take it anymore. that is game face. all these women in this room are projecting this game face leadership. you have it in you to project that as well. challenges, and go. political election seasons come and go. your leadership journey is sacred, and something to keep working on no matter what is affecting you, up or down. no matter your age, ethnicity, the school you attend, since you economic background -- socioeconomic background, you are a leader. i want you to say that. more convincingly. >> i am a leader. monica: that sounded so good. you are a game face leader. you control how you walk through the world. a a lot of times people are going to throw shade at you. you have this power, this inner core from your values to be that to championader, causes that you think are important. we know how fierce women can do when they champion causes, when the honor their leadership journey, and bring values to the table. i want to do an activity. i don't want to just talk at you. we aren't going to do another powerpoint. we've got that, right? [laughter] i would love for you to turn and talk to those 60 you. speaking about values. -- talk to those next to you. whatever your values are, what are your game face leader values, and what woman in the world is a game face leader that you admire? that.take 3 minutes for chatter] monica: game face! alright, i would love to hear anyone raise a hand. who are some game face leaders that you admire? >> j.k. rowling. monica: yes, how can we forget about the new movie? and where tosts find them? a gamee do we value as face leader? values you admire. ofica: jesus herself a lot -- she uses herself to advocate for that danger. someone else, a game face leader and why. >> shailene woodley from the movies. tell us why. people talk't let down to her, she does what she wants. monica: there are so many game face leaders. >> our current elected woman on the city council of los angeles. [applause] her.a: tell us about >> she is the councilwoman>> for the sixth district, i believe the only elected woman on the l.a. city council. she is powerful and embraces women's rights. she is a big inspiration to me who wants to go into municipal politics. [applause] monica: fantastic. in the back with the glasses, then we will go to your friend next to you. the mic is coming. >> tia torres. monica: tell me about her. >> she gives others second chances, even though they had a bad path. monica: i like it. this table had 2 hands up. >> malala. monica: tell us what you love about her. >> she has confidence and perseverance, because of the environment she grew up in and her religion. up had the voice to speak and tell people what she believes. monica: another game face leader. you had your hand up. this one right here. no, wait, there. yes. [laughter] >> someone i think is inspiring is temple grandin. she does not take no for an answer. she does not let people bring her down. saw another.i raise a big hand. >> i wanted to do a shout out for lori peters. she was a teacher that walked aty from $80,000 in benefits a academy. she made a difference in middle schools in california. they are committed to making a difference in middle school years for girls like you. [applause] monica: keep your hand up. we will get to every single person, for real. >> she has a position of power thats using that to show girls can feel comfortable with their bodies. i think that is amazing. [applause] monica: i know -- somebody else. >> i know she is not a real person, but i love ever dean -- i think that is how women should be looked at. monica: clap for katniss. may the on be in your favor. >> i think michelle obama, with her work ethic and strides to end child obesity. [applause] monica: yes, more hands. >> someone i find inspiring is my mother because she is raising 4 children and a grandchild, and doing all of this and still going to college. she inspires me to do my best and gives me confidence. monica: clap for all the moms. [applause] two would say the first women to pass army ranger school. i think that is a huge accomplishment. monica: i love it. >> one woman i admire is kellyanne conway. in addition to having a successful campaign was donald trump, she's had a successful legal career and i admire her intelligence, strategies, and work ethic. monica: fantastic. thank you. >> yes, to teachers everywhere. gives a positive attitude towards people she inspires. monica: indeed. clap for simone and the other olympians. everyone a because told her she wasn't good enough, they won "the voice." monica: yes. laurn.y her.t of people don't like she stands up and tells what she believes. monica: why don't people like her? kind of doesn't have the same views as everyone. she doesn't say everything like to everyone would like her see it. monica: she is still speaking out. everyone that is not saying what everyone wants them to say. let's do two more. >> my history teacher. she stresses the importance of government in the and she is just amazing and she happy every day. monica: that's everything. one last, yes. would say alex morgan because she never gives up and so many people and i think she is really amazing. i love indeed, indeed, it. one last person. >> well, i want to -- what was monroe, my teacher right everybody elieves in and anybody. monica: yes, ms. monroe comes through. i love it. amazing so many examples that you all have and that you continue to share with face women of game who have these values who are inspiring you and others around you. component of cond finding your game face you rship like many of touched on is crafting your giveback. ow can you use your time, talent and treasure to make this world a better place? how can you uplift globally? at injustices keep you up night? what matters so much to you that you would break your silence for that you would speak out and speak up about it. movements, often social movements are the catalyst for understanding more about the world around us. there are so many things that are happening that are troublesome to myself, to others this country that people are working hard to change. reform, there is ecostewardship, voting rights, lives matter, women's and fostering more of it. we have to be willing to break the bondage of apathy. when something happens and we are frozen or we feel helpless am i doubt or we say who to take a stand, who am i to try to change that, it will never i'm just one person. game face leaders work in with ity, with solidarity one another and building successful strong effective teams of any age from any key to having he that leadership journey be successful. i think there are two types of in this world. ted ex-talk.d a soon it will be available for public viewing. talked about how to be an upstander. when there are two types of there are he world, bystanders and upstander. who is der is someone passive. they're there when something is appening, a critical moment in history but they're not really taking any action, they're watching. is someone who is active. they're change making. bravery and ring progress and action to make things better in the world. needs more upstanders and you all are that next upstanders.f my colleague anthony talked the light. they are the upstanders that inspire us. activist spaces, political spaces, organizing spaces. boggs, a race lee legendary activist from detroit and id so much to educate enlighten and help her city. chisholm, shirley the first black woman to run for president back in the 1970's. other unsung heroes of the civil rights movement. mya angelou and countless artists who use their usic and poetry to stand up with what's right. the three co-founders of the lives matter movement that ave started a worldwide movement for change. [applause] monica: in addition to being an pstander, crafting your giveback, finding and identifying your values, it's honorable your identity. culture and the background that you come from. that's an asset. don't bury that. that, don't assimilate. make that come to the fore. as your secret sauce towards fighting your gays face culture that he you have is all part of your game ness when becoming a face leader. channel that strength from where where you are, where your family has been, what you have been through and what and ave accomplished overcome in your leadership journey. your voice and use and thoughts to champion change and spread knowledge. the next generation of leaders.e it's so essential in making this world a better place. t's time to do something, it's time to take a stand and i'll see you on the front lines as a face leader. thank you. [cheers and applause] monica's energy so infectious. everybody feeling that right now? yes, absolutely. really excited to now move into a conversation and to panelists onderful who have been up here, these leaders who are sharing their it in a framing conversation of what is the women's leadership looking like today, we have a wonderful moderator, kristin campbell. passionate about civic ngagement and working with millennials which i realize some of you may be and may be beyond millennial generation. i would like to start framing this discussion and at the end discussion, you will have the chance to ask questions to our panelists for a brief period of time. thank you. >> thank you so much, rebecca, and thank you all for being here having us here. rebekkah that we have her back this morning. i'm going to start by asking you guys a quick question. i want to yell loud and proud know the answer. ready who runs the world? >> girl. >> who runs the world? >> girls. >> who runs the world? >> girls. rebecka, we got you. and us hereaving us today. [applause] >> so we're going to start by a t having a little bit of dialogue up here on stage. monica's model leadership and make sure that we get at quickly so we can into a discussion with all of you all about your questions on today.ship so i have just three questions thinking ladies and be about the drops of honey badger that you want to bring into this them as well.ith let's go ahead and get started. the first question i would like ask to each of you is both rebekkah started this orning by sharing pictures and stories about why they do this work. as women, we particularly stand where at we we are because of the people who have come before us and the shoulders that we stand on. so i would love to start just by you, who most inspires your leadership style your leadership inspires in others? monica, do you want to start? sure.a: i'm inspired by so many people, in in my family line and the world. i'm very inspired by my great randmother who was a sharecropper in louisiana who was one of the first people to know how to read and taught people to read in her immediate area and helped found a church. community, local leadership inspires me greatly. thatlso inspired by people have started movements, movement activists, organizers around the world and the legacy that they lead. nancy: my biggest inspiration going up, i didn't have many models, but role my mom, because she is a very, her era coming out of the 960's, she is very strong-minded, very strong-willed, very vocal no matter what she is doing and having that energy and no does get ck when she out there and put herself out there really i think helped me better person. s i have gotten older, my children, especially my daughter having seen her the way she up at me inspires me to be etter, to be a better leader and you all, too, in my position citadel. several hundred women to come behind me. i have to set the exam for those too, so they can be the best that they can be. kristen: what would you say are the game face values? game face values do you hope that people see in you as a leadership?of your monica: sure. i would love for people to see spitter of being an entrepreneur, a maker, not you.ng for soto validate not waiting necessarily for any one place to make a name for name and a ing a legacy for yourself on your terms. resilience is e another battle that i hold dear no matter what is thrown at you, to get back up. i'll give you a short story example. teachero be a preschool many years ago. this was back around 2012 and incident with trayvon martin happened. in response to that, i created a series.plan i had my students write mother's trayvon martin's mom and send to their foundation. thought i was teaching the values of empathy and compassion was the right thing to do. sadly, the school administration agree with me and they fired me. this story was featured on from new york and on and on. from that moment, i learned to that game face attitude. i did what i felt was right. world didn't accept learned lidate it, i from that experience. when it happens, you feel the against me, i'm not on the right path. staying true to your core values i think y'all ave and i have, too, and we share that. [applause] >> i talked early having courage yourself ence to put out there. y comments will ecko monica's exactly. you have to take the initiative do it t for yourself or for your family or for a friend. you got to lily, have that initiative in order to do that. kristen: one thing i wanted to bring in this conversation is have heard about already in this conversation and hearing in society right now is of a glass ceiling. we started this morning by ecognizing a woman who is inspare rational to many of us, and the y o'connor crack that she and her leonardo into the elped put glass ceiling. shatteringsee a full f the glass ceiling last tuesday. maybe that's just one piece that still exist, but in accepting the challenge that was ffered to us this morning and thinking about optimism and things to be hopeful about, we highest year have the number of women in congress and and local legislative positions. so i would love for each of you reflect a little bit about what you feel that this moment means for or represents women's ovement of leadership in our country. nancy: if history serves right, it's the second or third time run for president on a ticket. far we icative of how have come and how far we have to go. my 7-year-old daughter asked me we ever had a f female president and i told her no. not?sked me, well, why i am a republican, a conservative woman. a good enough answer for that. it shows the importance of women to have more involved, whether that's at the corporate level or civic helping run political campaigns. i have done that a bit over the years and trying to be engaged making a difference. we need more women who are willing to have the courage and to get out there and make that difference. that is the most important thing. mentioned earlier, you have anne conway, she ran a successful presidential campaign. we see it out there but we need you out there to get us where we want to be in the future. [applause] i would say this is the moment of urgency. jetcally are y claiming and holding space. we can't feel that anything is we're ts to us because the first, second, the 33rd. important that we break that ceiling. sure there are us.more ceilings for how can we continue breaking the time iers so by your daughter comes of age, she has plenty of reference to say the first and the first woman. kristen: one of my favorite about the glass ceiling, it was stated by somebody who invoked this morning, cheryl sandburg. this is a glass ceiling, but it's glass, so take stilletto and shatter it. it's an interesting thing for us to keep in mind about the fact there are things that we can do, to your point, to change systems that don't always feel like they are accessible or approachable to focus. so one of the things that i that theinteresting is team here at the reagan this tion shared with us morning, registration for this little bit d out a slow. there were about 100 of you that registered about two weeks ago the election open up they had to more spaces. there are 300 of you in this originally -- yes, give applause. round of [applause] kristen: they thought the 200.city was around there are tiny ways that we are through. we are choosing to take up that leadership and say we need to find ways to change the system for ourselves. i want to appreciate and all of you that took that first step in making that appen which leads to my final question for the panel and then let's open it up. do you think -- what advice knowing that there are 300 young women and as i understand, one young man, who are here today, here to unlock their civic power and unlock and capture their civic leadership, them?dvice would you give monica: real simple, feel the fear and do it anyway. let fear stop you. fear is false evidence appearing real. fear, honor it and keep on pushing. [applause] ancy: i would say find your inner honey badger. find the courage to do the right good, that makes you feel makes you feel accomplished regardless of what that is. love, are doing what you you will be successful and you will become a leader. [applause] kristen: let's open it up for questions. fast and ihoot up so saw one right in here somewhere. one teed up this next. >> thank you, i'm a sophomore female student at an all school in los angeles. we're predominantly minority. wanted to know after last tuesday, a lot of the girls on discouraged ally because of light of everything that happened. tell ould you be able to all of the girls on our campus forward? to move nancy: monica and i have world views, different political views, but i think ultimately both sides are after the same end , goal, we just approach it, i differently. and regardless of what side that involved, being engaged and knowing the importance of what's at stake future.t's the in a few years when you guys are moms and you have your own kids, t's your children's future and your grandchildren's future. to 's why it's so important be engaged and be active. sit on the t sidelines and watch it go by. you have to be involved. just say that d it's time to organize. so definitely we see that the country is changing. of us aren't fond of the direction it's heading in. we have to be that much more and thoughtful and insightful and thinking of what small part of this big problem to tackle. looking to our ancestors, to folks that are still alive today and seeing the model they left, ok, how can i change it in my area and beyond and start o have that interactive spirit and organizing to go. kristen: we don't have a democracy of the people, we have democracy of the people who show up. we have to remember that and remember that if we expect we have to change, tow up and do what we can do make it happen. [applause] name.en: tell us your >> i'm tiva. thank you for being here, really speaking for and everyone here. i'm a senior in high school as i people at my the table and in this room today. there is a lot of scary for us.s coming up i was wondering what do you decisions he best that you have made to become the eaders you are in your community. monica: the best decisions i made. for ke about my penchant rule breaking. think committing to get a higher education, even though it is an exorbitant cost and burden. things we needhe to organize around. you being in spaces where can be solidly thoughtful, nderstand and critique the world's humanity, science, math, huge to propel yourself journey. service learning is so key on going on the leadership journey. if you know how to give and help, you're going to be a better leader. general, you were talking about listening to ted talks. there are really brilliant people that are sharing how they see the world. your own eally help perspective. that's what i would suggest. nancy: figure out what your goals are, where do you want to from now, five years from now, finding the people mentor you or give you advice. who the initiative to folks can mentor you through those years and help you make those decisions. know, iond thing is, you would like to think there are no bad decisions in life because if mistake and gosh nows, even at almost 40, i still make mistakes. the lesson there is you have to learn from them. when you do fumble, pick up the ball and figure out which irection you should have gone and learn from it so in the future it is not repeated and your own self. kristen: it's important to crust your gut. hen i think about some of the hardest decisions i have made but ended up being the most they weren't necessarily the ones that were easy to make. yourself, owing knowing what gives you anxiety, how you process and understand motions that are happening to you and what you do with them. ask those questions of yourself sometimes. theonly sometimes by asking questions can you cities cover the true decision you need to have been ight apparently to you in the first place. [applause] kristen: a couple questions over here. microphones? >> i also attend mount st. university which is a predominantly minority and all female school. are some ering, what of the hurdles that you have and how did you overcome them? kristen: i find myself professionally in male dominated environments. i have been involved in a couple presidential races and in local races, typically male dominated. right rofessional life, now i do commercial real estate, dominated, i'm the only women on my team in the office. balance with a woman. it was talked about earlier strong ut when you're nd assertive, sometimes that's the passionate, word or bossy. you have to find that balance, honey on a situation can go a long way versus taking it the other direction. hard as a woman to figure that out. it takes time and years, i'm to figure it out. monica: as a black woman, i'm only one in ly the the room, especially in leadership spaces, especially in arena.s and culture museum ingly enough spaces, the people of color are in ured on the wall but not capacity. me.s rare to see folks like i have to be my own cheerleader and best advocate. incredulous when i show up. are you sure, is it you? oh, you're in the wrong place. i think it's just learning to own your identity place, you get to that i'm doing this no matter what. be unapologetic than that. find other people in your you and don't rm wait for society to do it necessarily. in general, understanding who and why you are there is confident in that space. kristen: sometimes the biggest hurdles could be other women. biggest hurdles were women and nancy, to the speech, u made in your when as a woman are you an hurdle, how can you have that self-awareness holding might be people behind you back, and iguring what it will take to remove that hurdle. please stand by as a young person, what questions should we be high you to get to the position that all of you hold. kristen: great questions, what be asking hould they us. nancy: that's a great question. i did when i was starting out in my career. whose jobs i wanted and i went to them and get here and ou what advice would you give me. that was helpful and a lot of the women that i asked hadn't question before. >> that led them to think about that as well. i would offer g to you. you canningn you're power, you who has can articulate how you can add value to them. you're looking for a mentor, here is why and how i can reciprocate that. people, i loods of need help, i need help, which is fair. saying here is what situation to the that might catch someone's hawaii as well. you need to figure out what's your passion and where you want go in life and follow these authentic.s and be curiosity is fine, they show general interesting. you get here and what did you do. person is know that anything.e than [applause] >> hi, i'm maggie. i wanted to say good job, too, i knew you were really nervous. did a great job. are really all of us young and under 18. our age kind of stops us from of things. for me specifically, i want to but with foster teens because of legality reasons, we an't get involved in organizationers yet. other than grouping together and aking sure our voices are eard, what else can we do in these positions? >> it depends on the cause. might be able to work with foster teams. you can help the organization them, working with whether they know someone to get on the phone and do a calling with social elp media. a lot of times you have skills for grant. resume.build up your i think this using your flat for absolute that you have world.ad the everyone go advocate for them. hat's definitely something you can do that's within your power right now. you can intern at other build up a record of performanceance or volunteers at those organizations or ones that are sort of to that. proyou can show him i have things, i wantese to help you. a sten: i want you to take minute to challenge us in a place where we were honoring a us where to challenge we think that young people's represent.s and i was at an advent the other day with steven who runs an the millennialll action project. one thing that he really brought out in that conversation was how think of our founding athers, we think of them as -- statesque statesman. jefferson was 33 and james madison was 36 when he tarted drafting the constitution of the united states. think re are ways that i we all have to make sure that voices how our young matter and what they bring into and how even if you cannot run for congress oldt now because you're not enough and can't be president mean you're 35, it doesn't that your voice would influence. the people in the positions, you find ways to organize and communicate the things that are to you so that then you are, you have a platform and that you have found, and hen you are positioned to run when you are able. do we have time for one more question? say one more question. back there, ok. madonna, i'm ais sacred at flintridge heart academy, an all girls school. they do opportunities and preach what we believe on certain issues. sort of wondering of your irst experience of getting up in front of a crowd and speaking in what you believed in. my friends did this the other day. my mom ed my mom and red core pep talk. did you have any experience like did they say to you? onica: experience like a meltdown? day.very monica: consistentlily. peaking in front of people is not easy. them and we were protest i at our school, we stages a protest and walked down the walk away of the students. we need people to speak to. monica, you have a loud voice. a t because i'm communications major, eventually me and i spoke about what i thought was right. well.nt fairly wow, i may have a voice and say hings that people will get inspiration from. meltdowns come and go, but be fine. >> i was pressed into the i was in college. there were four women that me.rted with 90 days. out after time and rson for a all of this press and media, no training. what do you think? and no coaching and did it had to, kind of survival. that built my confidence to be that.o do more of i always felt like after that xperience i needed to set the exam for other women who ollowed behind me at the citadel. i became more involved with the alumni and spoke to more groups. was president for the alumni group and i always felt i have to set the exam for you will of that have come behind me. as i get older, the more i the worse it is. authentic e real and and yourself. something to be said about overpreparing and making you nervous, also. monica: i think finding it is talk t is you want to about in the world is so key. might come -- things that i care about and my life i organic it's an process of inspiration to speak about it to other people. definitely reading is to speaking and being involved about what you're going to say, keeping up with another e events is good thing to do. speakers and i like their style. this isn't directly related to public speaking, a fuse years ago i was going to leave my job and start a new consulting practice. it was very scary to me. never will forget, i was talking to my good friend justin phone, handsfree, of course. i told him what i was going to do. i'm really scared and nervous but take this leap of faith. e said to me, i will never forget it. you are taking a faith in yourself. hat else can you possibly have faith in. it was the most powerful thing to exactly what i needed hear in that moment. in that moment, i'm not going to i stopped being scared or stopped questions if that was thing for me. while my experience was directly to a public speaking scenario. repercussions of the way e think a lot about the doubt near christmas. have faith in yourself, what else can you possibly have faith in. we will be here for the rest of the day, i think. we had some open time around lunch and would love to talk with you more. guys, for taking what for some of you might be the first step in your leadership to come here. or some of you it might be the 10th step or 100 agent step. ask please don't top on for yourself, you're community and our country. much for having us. talks er: lee saunders about president-elect's trump for labor secretary and other minimum wage, overtime pay and the influence of unions. atch the interview sunday at 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. eastern here on c-span. military force is one of the things i think the american very often gets impatient about it because they really believe they have this trump great military that can defeat anyone, but it's not true. it is an extraordinary military, it's very powerful, but it can only win in certain situations destroy n only really things. it can't build a new order in its place. q & ncer: sunday night on a, journalist and professor mark danner talks about his career challenges facing the u.s. war on terrorism in his latest book. >> what we don't want to do is respond in such a way that will these militants, more of these militant organizations. want us to overreact. muslim e to occupy countries. want us to torture people and do things that will allow them to make their case against us. announcer: sunday night at 8:00 eastern on c-span's q & a. next week "washington journal" devote the entire program with the issue facing administration. closer look at the career of james matties. how thee and job issues trump administration could laws to create or save jobs. how energy and climate issues might be impacted by congress and the trump administration. we'll talk about immigration and how president-elect trump and he new congress might change immigration policy. the iday, december 30, future of the affordable care act now that the congress and he trump administration will appeal and replace the a.c.a. the key players in the month ahead. at 's starting december 26 7:00 a.m. eastern. the congress meets for first time in january and will include several new members. we spoke with

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