International Day of the Girl

Earlier this month, Ashley Hall Student Ambassadors had the opportunity to listen to a panel centered around the International Day of the Girl - organized by Mrs. Horn, Assistant Head of Student Affairs, and leader of the AH Student Ambassadors. International Day of the Girl is an annual event that empowers women and girls everywhere to advocate for themselves by raising awareness about the ongoing issues of gender inequality. This year, the theme was “Digital Generation. Our generation,” focused on understanding and improving gender discrimination online, while recognizing how far women have come in the last few years.

To speak on these issues, our panelists, Elena Minolfo, Administrative Assistant to the Directors of Admission and Enrollment, Nurse Tiffin Lamoreaux, Director of Ashley Hall Health Center, and Officer Kelly Allen, Student Resource and Security Officer, discussed the challenges they faced while being a woman in their fields and touched on the role Ashley Hall has played in each of their lives. Ms. Minolfo remarked that her sisters, family, and friends have been a “constant encouragement” for her to pursue her current career and overall succeed in life. Bringing up the similar community of Ashley Hall, she emphasized the importance of Ashley Hall girls “supporting each other” and “pushing each other to be better” because “we’re all facing the effects of the patriarchy”.

Responding to Ms. Minolfo’s comment, Officer Allen told the crowd that coming to Ashley Hall was “empowering” for her having previously worked in a predominantly male field as a police officer. “I didn’t feel as comfortable or heard,” Allen said when discussing working under all male bosses and coworkers. There was only one other female officer in the downtown area, and as Allen spoke about a personal story of hers, Student Ambassadors were able to understand that despite prejudice still occurring towards women today, we can’t let those people stand in the way of our dreams, but should prove them wrong by teaching them not to judge someone based off their appearances, just as Officer Allen did in her community. At Ashley Hall, she was taken aback by the sense of community and sisterhood stitched into this all-girls environment, especially how the little sisters “think the world of y’all”, emphasizing the unity of the Ashley Hall student body.

Similarly, Nurse Tiffin recalled a time when she led a women’s backpacking hike, and “a lot of these women told themselves all these lies. --That they can’t do it –That they can’t hike that far –That they can’t start a fire –That they can’t filter water –That they can’t cross a narrow cable crossing.” Nurse Tiffin recounts the doubts lots of women, specifically, have in themselves—being taught to always be sorry for making a small mistake or disappointing someone, always overthinking. Tiffin said it was uplifting “to watch them empower each other and encourage each other,” breaking that stereotype, and as a result “they left feeling more confident in themselves.” This is not the only stereotype women are often associated with, but women are also forced to deal with the fast fashion industry and are expected to resolve this issue because “it's highly marketed towards women,” therefore “it becomes a woman’s problem to fix the fast-fashion industry.” Minolfo explained. She also pointed out how most women are raised to take on the role and stereotype of being obsessed with shopping and clothes all throughout history, which continues to take a toll on women today, despite “all of us, male and female, contribute to the fast fashion industry, contribute to hyperconsumerism.” She continued on to discuss how it is everyone’s problem, especially because of the detrimental effects of this, such as pollution and Global Warming (10% of global carbon emissions are caused by textile waste) which affect us all.

As an AH Student Ambassador myself, the words of these three role models will resonate with me throughout and past my time at Ashley Hall. I am so glad I had the opportunity to listen to them speak, ask questions, and feel empowered to continue standing up for ourselves by supporting and empowering each other.

Happy International Day of the Girl, Panthers!