Marlborough’s Girl Up Summit hosted 165 girls this year.
Keynote speakers included Dee Dee Myers, the first female White House press secretary, Yael Aflalo, the founder and CEO of Reformation and Jen Tolentino, Rock the Vote’s Director of Policy & Civic Tech.
Students Sophia D.’19 and Sophia Z. ’19 organized the event to focus on the issues that girls and women face globally as well as the ways teens can act to fix these injustices in their own communities. At the summit, workshops focussed on women in politics, the fight for the legalization of same-sex marriage, women in STEM, the #MeToo movement, the importance of engaging in hard and controversial discussions, and how to get involved with Girl Up. Workshops were led by Girls Go Global leaders, the leaders of various Girl Up clubs across Southern California, as well as various outside speakers, including Councilwoman Nury Martinez, Alyssa Lanz and Abbey Hudson, a lawyer who worked to legalize same sex marriage in California.
Sophia Z. ’19 commented on the goals for the summit.
“I think that our main goal was to encourage girls to be more active in the issues they are passionate about. A lot of the speakers and workshops we planned were to cater to the girls to inspire them to take action in politics and beyond,”Sophia Z. ’19 said.
The summit raised $4,000 from ticket sales, merchandise and a bake sale that Girls Go Global hosted.
Sophia D. ’19 said she was excited about how the money raised during the summit can impact the lives of many women.
“I thought that the summit went really well. I think attendees found the event to be quite engaging and inspiring. We were able to raise $4000 which will be able to make a difference in the lives of women and girls,” Sophia D. ’19 said.
Avery ’20 said she felt encouraged to get involved after the summit.
“I found that the summit really inspired me to take on leadership in my club and also to expand this leadership beyond Marlborough,” Avery said.
Lily ’20 said that she enjoyed the summit and the speakers that led workshops.
“My favorite speaker was Dee Dee Myers and her talk on the recent walk-outs that are happening all around the [U.S.]. Her talk about women in politics inspired me to seek out change,” Lily said.
Sophia D. ’19 said she hopes that the summit has inspired the girls who attended.
“I hope that the attendees left with more knowledge about and passion for feminism and girls’ rights and were thus motivated to advocate for change in their communities,” Sophia D. ’19 said.
