Standing before more than 100 people in a lecture hall last week, Texas Woman’s University marketing senior Nekia Godfrey slowly wiped away tears as she spoke of her daily struggles.

“Every day is a challenge to even step into the classroom,” said the 29-year old full-time student, homemaker and mother of four.

That morning, she said, she was faced with the challenge of possibly dropping one of her courses because times got too rough. Godfrey, who says that she’s usually the first to motivate people to push through when they face tough times, reached a moment when she felt unable to take her own advice.

But she said she found motivation to stay strong and not give up after attending a campus screening of The Glow Project.

Godfrey and a friend were among an audience viewing the first college screening of the 78-minute film, which focuses on the real-life stories of 15 female entrepreneurs and executives who faced tough circumstances and triumphed in the face of adversity.

“It just really inspired me because I was just having my own personal struggle this week, and it just motivated me and pushed me,” Godfrey said. “I’m just so grateful.”

Dr. Paula Ann Hughes, director of the TWU School of Management, said she viewed the film last month in Plano and felt her students needed to see it. Each year, an average of 150 graduate students earn their degrees, she said, and tough economic times have left several with questions and fear amid uncertainty about finding a job after graduation. Hughes said the film was a way to inspire students to have the courage to survive a relatively difficult time.

“Everybody’s got challenges, but I think the movie gave them hope that they’re the right people to make it through the challenges,” she said. “I think we all needed something uplifting right now.”

The Glow Project represents a person connected to their inner truth and doing what they believe is their life’s work and purpose despite negativity, said Kym Yancey, the film’s executive producer.

It’s tough to be happy and successful on one’s own terms, he said. That message — and finding value in something one does — was something that needed to be shared with college students sooner rather than later, Yancey said.

Stories of success often come from male perspectives, Yancey said, but The Glow Project offers females’ journeys to success — something several students at TWU can relate to.

“We wanted it to be one story told by 15 women. We wanted it to be intimate to where these stories were told [in a] one-on-one [style],” he said.

It was important to show college students that what lies ahead of them after graduation can be daunting, but it doesn’t have to be if they’re willing to collaborate with others who have bright ideas, Sandra Yancey told Thursday’s audience.

Yancey, a film producer and president of eWomenNetwork

.com, is one of the 15 women in the film.

When people are faced with tough times, they often give up, and she said she wanted to show students that they have to think of creative ways around obstacles to fulfill their life’s purpose. She said she hopes the film conveys that message.

“I’m hoping what women will get out of the movie is that they’re entitled to their dream and nothing needs to get in the way of making that dream come true,” she said.

BRITNEY TABOR can be reached at 940-566-6876. Her e-mail address is btabor@dentonrc.com.