INSIDE OUR SCHOOLS
Young women of Marshall Fundamental listen to CM Felicia Williams (Photo – Felita Kealing)
On Tuesday, March 12, the Marshall Fundamental Girls Build LA Club hosted a Lunch and Learn event, bringing together the young women of Marshall to learn about civic engagement and female empowerment. Over thirty young women took part in the event, where they had the extraordinary opportunity to hear from Pasadena City Council member, Felicia Williams!
By Erica Briones
The Marshall GBLA team’s main focus was to get young girls engaged with their community and educate them about electoral engagement.
Guest speaker Felicia Williams shared her story about her career as a politician on the Pasadena City Council, including her struggles as a woman in politics and how she continues to achieve regardless of those struggles. In her story, she expressed that the most rewarding thing about being an active member of the city council is the ability to speak to students in schools and the youth in the community about civic engagement. She serves as an inspiration to young girls who aspire to take on leadership roles in politics and represents the high-achieving women we all can be. Jaenna Sambilay, a junior at Marshall said, “It was eye-opening to personally meet a council member, especially a woman of color who shares an ethnicity with me. It showed that there can be lots of opportunities for anyone and everyone, and all someone needs to do is put in the work to achieve their goals. It was also so nice to see that such a powerful and accomplished woman still managed to stay caring, relevant, and understanding throughout her whole career.” The students also learned about the importance of voting for the community and were provided voter registration forms to encourage students to get involved.
(L-R) Alyson Leung, Megan Pranboonpluk, Eunbee (Grace) Ahn, Lauren Garnett, and Lauren Quintero (Photos – Felita Kealing)
In addition, lunch was provided for each attendee along with a gift package. The gift package included motivational stickers for the girls to always have a motto on the go, a pencil with an empowering quote to fuel academic drive, eye patches and claw clips for self-care, and colored pencils for one of the activities. Those activities included icebreakers to get to know each other, button-making, and friendship bracelet-making.
This event has had a strong impact on the girls who attended. Jane Gallego, a senior at Marshall, said, “The voting literacy workshop has taught me that the presence and representation of women is crucial in politics since it is a male-dominated field. I was shocked to find out that such a small number of women held high positions and even still they faced discrimination among their colleagues.” This event has brought recognition to the problems women still face today while also shedding light on the possibilities and opportunities women have. It has strengthened the determination and motivation of these young women to pursue their dreams and make a difference despite what society may say. It has encouraged students to get involved with their community.
The Girls Build Los Angeles Club invited the Cabinet Members of the Rock the Street Wall Street, Financial Literacy Club, and the Women in Business Club to the Lunch and Learn inspired by the 2024 Women’s History Collaborative Theme, “Building Community Through Sisterhood.” Then at the event, each club hosted a table to share their missions including the GBLA Club, which extended its civic engagement and was prepared to register those 16 and older to vote.
Erica Briones is a Marshall Fundamental Junior. She is the Girls Build LA Club Historian, the Filipino Club meeting coordinator, a Chamber Orchestra violist, a member of the National Honor Society and the Academy of Creative Industries, and is on the Winterguard team.
(L-R) Top: Erica Briones, Principal Lori Touloumian. Bottom: Erica Briones, Clara Ortega, Alique Tufenkjian, CM Felicia Williams, Bethany Rivas, Alyson Leung (Photos – Felita Kealing),
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