Girl Up

The Girl Up Teen Advisor Program is a year-long, rigorous training given to youth leaders to equip them to advocate and speak as representatives for the Girl Up community. Participants receive high-level transformational leadership skills training, professional development opportunities, hands-on learning experiences, and in-depth mentorship from Girl Up staff and experts.

Every year we receive about 400 applications from leaders around the world and select between 20-25 Teen Advisors, making the Teen Advisory Board highly competitive. Here are a few tips I believe will help YOUR Teen Advisor application stand out!

Apply here!

First, remember the criteria that all candidates must meet!

Be between the ages of 13-18;
Currently be enrolled in high school/secondary school, and still attending high school/secondary school until at least May 2024;
Identify as a girl, woman, or gender nonconforming youth.

What does the application entail?

5 short answer questions (150 word limit each)
3 essays (250 word limit each)
1 video
Biographical and demographic information.

Now, let’s get to the tips!

Short Answers

“Please explain your involvement with Girl Up to date. If you have no prior involvement with Girl Up, please tell us more about any other gender justice work you are involved in.”

If you have participated in a Girl Up Club, don’t forget to include the Club name and your title, and describe your responsibilities.
If you have attended a Girl Up event or bootcamp, don’t forget to include its name and date of your participation.
Mention your most relevant Club activities/other gender justice work, quantifying achievements with numbers.

“What are the top three things that you spend your time on outside of class? Please list any clubs, sports, volunteer organizations, jobs, etc. that you might be actively involved in.”

Include the organization names (if applicable) and your position title in the activity;
Use strong verbs to describe your range of responsibilities;
Make your impact tangible (and even quantifiable).

“If you could choose the next spokesperson for Girl Up, who would it be and why? (Examples could include an author, athlete, even a family member!) What two personal values are most important to you and why?”

Tell us who inspires you and why they inspire you;
Write about what this person taught you and how you carry those lessons in your life;
Review Girl Up’s core values and current Champions, and then reflect on how your recommended spokesperson would contribute to Girl Up and best exemplify our mission

“How often do you use social media? Do you see it as a tool to support your advocacy? If you are not active on social media, what are some other ways that you connect with others in your community?”

Tell us a story from when you used social media to bring awareness to an issue or/and advocate for others;
Reflect on whether or not social media is used as a tool for community building where you live or the ideal tool to do so if not and why.

Essays

“What is one social justice issue you are passionate about? How would/have you gone about addressing it (with the support of your peers and/or Girl Up club) to benefit your school, community, or the world?”

Social justice issues are the ones related to race, gender, age, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, education, mental, and physical ability;
Tell us a story from when you advocated for an issue: which issue was it, why you care, what were the outcomes.

“What is one goal – academic, personal, or otherwise – that you would like to achieve this year?”

Choose any goal – big or small – as long as you explain why you chose it!
Consider telling us how it may be connected to your experience in the Teen Advisor Program if selected.

How would you describe your leadership style?

A good way to think about this question is to think of what your friends or peers would say, and your role and how you often interact in a group or team project
Feel free to use a story or example to answer!