Learning the Words to an Honor Song

November 2025

A big part of my identity has always been being and working for women. Back home in Bangladesh, I spent six years working in women-centric non-profits. Naturally, the first organization I joined at my college was WILL - a Women in Living Learning program that entails a minor in Gender Studies and, more importantly, a community for life.

Fast forward three years, and I found myself on a journey with four of my WILL friends - Daniel, Vuola, Andi, and Susanne - and my two professors, Dr. Ooten and Dr. Gonzales, headed to the National Women’s Studies Conference. As our professors would often say, we really lucked out. In previous years, the conference had been hosted in Detroit and Baltimore - both incredible cities in their own right. This year, however, the conference carried us all the way to Puerto Rico. I know, pretty crazy.

The theme of the conference was “An Honour Song: Feminist Struggles, Feminist Victories,” and it could not have been more fitting. Puerto Rico felt like a place that already knew how to sing an honor song - a place shaped by resistance, community, and joy. To be surrounded by that energy for four days, alongside people who care deeply about the same things I do, felt like a victory in itself.

Right after landing, we headed to our hotel, the Caribe Hilton. The moment we arrived, we were in awe. With an incredible beach view from our room, music floating through the air, and people carrying an infectious warmth, I knew this trip would be one for the books. It felt like the opening notes of something special.

After a quick beach moment and getting settled, we headed to Old San Juan in search of dinner. From our very first Uber ride, we were greeted with the biggest smiles and the best recommendations. That night, we ended up at Restaurante Raíces, where I had my first mofongo - a genuinely life-changing dish - paired with a tamarind mojito that somehow managed to be just as life-changing (if not more). Andi and Daniel had just gotten matching Puerto Rico tattoos, and between the buzz of the mojitos, the excitement for the conference ahead, and the ease of being together, the night felt like a perfect verse in a song you want to replay.

The first day was only the beginning - the chorus had yet to arrive.

Friday was our conference day. We had our WILL roundtable scheduled for 1 pm, where each of us would speak about WILL and how the program has shaped us as student activists. Before that, however, our schedules were packed. Starting at 8:30 am, we dispersed into different sessions that spoke to our individual interests.

I found myself in a niche I didn’t even realize could exist at such a scale. There were multiple sessions that captured my specific intersectional interests within gender studies, particularly feminist filmmaking in South Asia. One of my favorite sessions, “Women’s Transborder Cinema: Authorship, Stardom, and Filmic Labor in South Asia,” led by Dr. Esha Niyogi De from UCLA, felt like my worlds colliding. Listening to discussions on South Asian cinema beyond Bollywood, and learning about feminist portrayals in Pakistani and Bangladeshi films dating back to the 80s and 90s, was eye-opening. I left that session with three immediate thoughts - I couldn’t wait to read Dr. De’s book, I needed to rewatch old Bengali films with fresh eyes, and this conference was exactly where I was meant to be.

The rest of Friday carried that same transformative energy. Our roundtable came and went, nerves easing as appreciation from professors and peers filled the room. That evening, we had dinner with our professors at a Spanish restaurant, where I had paella for the first time since Barcelona - another solid 10/10. Later that night, the five of us ventured out on our own and stumbled into a small, unassuming spot in Old San Juan called Birra y Empanadas.

Puerto Rican hospitality continued to shine. When I accidentally ordered a Negroni the bartender had never made before, he pulled out a recipe and made it anyway, without hesitation and with utmost enthusiasm. Sitting there, listening to live jazz, surrounded by my friends after a day of meaningful conversations, I remember thinking that this was one of the best Negronis I had ever had. Whether it was the drink, the moment, or the feeling of belonging, everything felt perfectly in tune.

Suddenly, we were down to our last full day. We started the morning with more conference sessions before heading to the beach, where I had a piña colada at its place of origin. From there, we followed another Uber driver’s recommendation to Bistro Café for brunch. He warned us about the portion sizes - and he was absolutely right. I had never seen a pancake that large in my life.

Later, we returned to Old San Juan to explore it in daylight. We walked through the Bastión de San Sebastián, wandered the colorful streets, ducked into shops, and stopped for drinks along the way. One memorable stop was Café Con Ron, which we had to visit as Bad Bunny fans. Whether the café was named after the song or the song after the café didn’t matter much to us - confirming that Bad Bunny himself had been there was enough.

We ended the trip with one last group dinner back at the Spanish restaurant, this time joined by two other Richmond professors I had never met before but who hugged me like we had known each other for years. As the night wound down and we prepared for our 7 am flight home, I felt overwhelmed with gratitude.

Puerto Rico gave us more than a conference. It gave us shared laughter, deep conversations, moments of learning that extended far beyond conference rooms, and friendships that felt stronger with every passing day. If an honor song is meant to celebrate struggle, resilience, and collective victory, then this trip was exactly that. We arrived ready to listen, and we left carrying the melody with us - a song of feminism, friendship, and community that I know I’ll keep humming long after Puerto Rico fades into memory.