Growing up, I had always been surrounded by strong womxn and progressive values. My mother was, and continues to be, an excellent role model. She knows how to stand up for what she believes in and has a diverse set of interests. My grandmothers, also empowered womxn, both went to college and worked, which was not the norm for many womxn at the time. One pushed boundaries locally by serving as the president of a mostly-male school board and the other worked in STEM. They are both kind-hearted yet stubborn (in the best way possible). I also grew up with an incredibly supportive father who has encouraged me to pursue all of my interests.
During my sophomore year, I joined my high school’s Girl Up club. Girl Up, a United Nations Foundation campaign, works to empower girls through lobbying, fundraising, and advocacy, with a focus on educating girls in developing nations. Girl Up provided me with resources that made me feel empowered and introduced me to a whole new group of friends within my school. These ambitious young womxn inspired me and helped me become a better version of myself. Through Girl Up, I also met young womxn from other places in the United States and all over the globe. I gained a global perspective and learned what it meant to be a womxn and a feminist from people around the world. Through Girl Up, I found a whole new dimension of myself. I learned of my power through fundraising thousands of dollars and successfully planning events, but more importantly, through lobbying. During the summer after my sophomore year, I attended the Girl Up Leadership Summit. On the third day, we met with and informed congresspeople as well as their staff about the Protecting Girls’ Access to Education in Vulnerable Settings Act. The act ensures that the educational needs of refugee girls and womxn are considered while designing, implementing, and evaluating the United States’ foreign assistance programs. My group of four successfully convinced our congressman to co-sponsor the bill, which I am proud to say is now a national law. I believe this experience, along with all my work with Girl Up, allowed me to become more than just a supporter of womxn’s rights, but also an activist. It helped me find my place within a large movement that I previously felt disconnected to.
