Two hundred women screamed together, once and then a second time, waving their arms in the air and giggling as they sat down.

Ali Hynek, founder and CEO of Neno & Co., as well as the organizer of the evening’s event and the one who had invited the women to stand up and share their grito with her, grinned at the audience: “Wasn’t that relaxing?” she asked.

The women shouted their approval. It felt good to yell.

Satisfied that the women had left their timidity behind them for the evening, Hynek formally welcomed the audience to Provo’s first Women Empowerment Panel, featuring entrepreneurs Rachel Nilsson and Kera Thompson, as well as best-selling author Al Carraway, and Provo’s first female mayor, Michelle Kaufusi.

Working off of the theme, “Empowered women empower women,” and defining “empowerment” as choosing to use your personal power to do something good in the world, Hynek mediated the evening’s Q&A panel with the four women.

The panelists discussed their personal empowerment journeys, strategies for avoiding comparison on social media, and tips and tricks for finding balance in life.

Timpview seniors Elizabeth Sheffield, Alia Perry, and Candace Brown attended the event.

Sheffield commented, “I was impressed with these small business owners [Nilsson, Thompson, and Hynek] who were able to start up and get going.”

From the event, Sheffield said that she learned that, “You don’t have to be the best to be successful. You just have to want it and be willing to work.”

Speaking about the event as a whole, Perry said, “It is so refreshing to see women in a light of success and confidence. This event really emphasized that there is no one way to live or plan out your life…

“It is so exciting to see more and more women becoming entrepreneurs, authors, and political leaders, and this panel did a wonderful job of embodying the spirit of empowerment.”