Lake Ridge now has its own Girl Up chapter. On October 14th, the club had its first meeting. Girl Up is a United Nations foundation with a purpose to promote world wide equality for all girls. Despite the main focus of the club being on girls, all students are welcomed to join.

Since the club is still in the beginning stages of being established, no officers other than president have been elected. However, some members have already set their sights on running for an officer position. Sophomore, Giordana Calderin, has considered running for public relations officer. She’s choosing this role because it aligns with her passions. 

“I was thinking about applying for the public relations officer position. I think it’s what fits best for me. I really enjoy organizing and sharing personal activities on social media, and one of the role’s requirements is that, so I think that’s awesome,” said Calderin.

Calderin initially wasn’t sure about joining Girl Up, but once she learned more about it and understood their mission. She eventually realized after talking with a friend, that Girl Up represents a lot of her values.

“At first I wasn’t really sure whether to join or not. Then a friend [talked] to me about it, and told me what the club supported, such as feminism and women’s rights, and I thought ‘well those are the same things I support!’ So because of that, I decided to join,” stated Calderin.

Like all extracurricular activities and clubs, Girl Up will contribute to the community in different ways. Students like sophomore, Madison Nguyen, hope that fundraisers will be held in order to raise money and gather supplies for girls.

“I think that the club will contribute to Lake Ridge by building a bond between the girls at our school. This is the first girls empowerment club, so there hasn’t really been a place where girls can come together. And I believe that the club could bring change to Lake Ridge with the types of things that will be discussed and activities that will be held. Especially when we’ll discuss the current troubles in the world that surround women. And for activities, I’m hoping that we’ll have a pad or tampon drive that will help the people at our school,” Nguyen said.

Nguyen joined Girl Up in support of her friend who started the Lake Ridge chapter. After the first meeting, she knew she wanted to be a part of it for reasons beyond just supporting a friend. She felt good about it and wanted to see more of what the club has to offer.

“At first I joined because I wanted to support my friend Lilianne, but when I attended the first meeting, I really enjoyed it. The atmosphere was very welcoming, and I’m excited to see the things that we’ll do throughout the year,” stated Nguyen.

Many of the members of Girl Up have expressed their interest in joining the club stems from the strong bond and community it will build. This will be another social club for all students to join and stay involved with others.  Freshman, Destyni Ford’s goals for the club are to become close with everyone involved and make it a good space for any girl to join.

“My goals are to make the club a great environment for all girls and for us to be a family,” stated Ford.

Ford will contribute to the club by running for either vice president, secretary, or treasurer in order to make a significant impact and to help with planning and organizing. She thinks Girl Up will not only empower the girls at Lake Ridge, but also give them examples on how to showcase it. 

“I want to participate because I want to be a part of a girl empowerment group and that is what Girl Up offers,” Ford said.

Though Girl Up has just begun and hasn’t established any activities or fundraisers yet, all of the members are planning on making it as good as possible and want it to leave a lasting effect on Lake Ridge and the community.