When I first joined Girl Up as a high school student in Arlington, VA, I never imagined how deeply it would shape my future. I came from a community where access and representation felt limited, and where the idea of becoming a global leader in science or advocacy seemed almost out of reach. Girl Up was the first place I saw young women not just talking about change, but leading it boldly, inclusively, and with heart.
After high school, my Girl Up leadership journey began with the Mid-Atlantic Regional Leadership Club, where I had the privilege of working alongside incredible leaders like Denia Smith, Elsa Boehm, and Stacy Liu who are now youth leaders at American University, Yale, and Georgetown University. Together, we organized community clean-ups,
supported grant applications for chapters across the region, and helped bring Women’s History Day programming to life in 2024. I was proud to collaborate with the American Heart Association to expand access to CPR training. I also moderated Girl Up chats on nonprofit innovation and startups.
These moments mattered because they showed me leadership isn’t about titles—it’s about creating opportunities where others can thrive. Girl Up gave me the confidence to step into that role, and I’ve carried those lessons into every space since.
Today, I am a senior at Cornell University studying biotechnology and biomedical engineering, and I am a research fellow at Harvard Medical School. My work now focuses on hormone health and health equity, areas where women’s voices and needs have been historically overlooked. I’ve founded initiatives like Hormolize, a real-time hormone health platform, and Helocity Inc., focused on women’s health diagnostics and media. But even as my career grows in science and innovation, I remain grounded in the values Girl Up instilled in me around community care and impact.
Girl Up taught me that success is not something distant or reserved for a select few, it’s something every girl deserves to reach for, right now. As we celebrate 15 years of Girl Up, I’m grateful for the role it has played in my journey, and I’m hopeful for what it will continue to mean for the next generation of girls who will lead with courage, creativity, and purpose.
