Recently, a few female students in SkillsUSA started a club called EmpowHer with the help of a couple of teacher sponsors. This club is designed to be “a safe space to empower girls” (Shri Dhamotharan, 11). When these students first came up with this idea, it was initially just part of a SkillsUSA state leadership conference where they pitched this idea as a podcast to the judges. But eventually, the concept evolved into more. It evolved into a club where girls of the student body could go to have a safe place in a world where that can be hard for a teenage girl to find.
Many girls were joined by a friend pulling them in and getting them into a meeting, and once they went, they ended up finding they enjoyed it. For example, Ana Miles (11) said, “My friend said she was going, so I went too, and it was a lot of fun.”
EmpowHer is an excellent safe space for female students to go to and meet other students who are going through similar things, or even if they aren’t, you can count on someone to be there for you. Misa McFarlin (11) said, “My favorite part is the bonds you create with people you wouldn’t usually even talk to before.”
However, a lot of people don’t know that aside from being a safe space for students, this club takes it a step further by teaching its members essential life skills and helping them prepare for the future. Some members would even say that their favorite part is this. Asiah Makenzie (11) said, “My favorite part is talking about getting into college and learning life skills I will use in the future.”
EmpowHer is a student-created, student-run, and student-centered club created to enforce a safe space and uplifting environment for female students to have as a resource.
