Urja Aryal
If a woman is sufficiently ambitious, determined and gifted there is practically nothing she can’t do. Helen Laurenson
Our community is blessed by so many remarkable women. Women like Urja Aryal who is full of ambition and drive yet is fearless, approachable, accomplished and lovely. Who is this treasure? Originally from Nepal, Urja experienced her first winter seven years ago at Mankato State. After her first semester she found Dickinson State University was a better fit for her educational goals. She graduated with a degree in Human Resource Management and never left our community. Why? She loves it here! With family close enough in other locations across the United States; Urja feels it is here in Dickinson where she can “plant roots and grow as a leader and community member”.
A support coordinator at ABLE, Urja spends her free time volunteering at Best Friends Mentoring Program, the Domestic Violence Rape Crisis Center (DVRCC) and is an active Rotarian. Each of these experiences has informed her desire to lead more conversation in our community about domestic violence. As a participant in the Bush Foundation’s Change Network Cohort, Urja will lead a project to paint a mural representing domestic violence. Urja hopes the mural will spread awareness about domestic violence as well as have characteristics that would empower women in the shelter. The mural will be housed at DVRCC but will be portable so that it can be moved to public locations. Plans are still forming for when the mural will be painted. Urja hopes to invite the public to participate in painting the mural and use that moment as a conversation starter about the stigma of abuse and resources available in our community.
Kudos is a program of the local nonprofit organization Women Empowering Women. The program recognizes the good works women do. These are women who’ve lived quietly, joyfully or creatively to influence our lives. They are an inspiration and deserve to be recognized for their efforts and impact. Women Empowering Women is dedicated to the collaboration of women to meet needs and helping women become the best versions of themselves. To learn more see http://wewnetwork.org.
