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GEMfest Welcomes Middle School Girls to Sage Hill for Day of Empowerment
GEMfest Welcomes Middle School Girls to Sage Hill for Day of Empowerment
On Saturday, April 28, nearly 150 middle school girls from all over Orange County are expected to visit Sage Hill School for GEMfest, a festive day of panels and workshops designed to inspire 11- to 14-year-old girls.
Featuring two keynote speakers — Wende Zomnir, co-founder of Urban Decay Cosmetics; and Sage Hill alumna Courtney Conlogue, ranked No. 2 in the Women’s Surf League — the event will include panels on careers in entrepreneurship and STEM. Among the dynamic speakers are a Jet Propulsion Laboratory engineer, a food scientist, a YouTube influencer and many more. Attendees will also choose from workshops on body image, public speaking, coding, and tools for success.
Seeking ways to mentor younger girls, five juniors and one senior this year created the Service Learning group Girls Empowerment Movement (GEM), which is organizing the event.
“I think it’s important to empower girls especially when they’re in middle school because that’s the point when they start figuring out who they are as women,” said GEM member and junior Lily Humphrey, explaining how the idea for GEMfest developed. “It’s important to provide role models for them at that stage so they can feel positive about themselves and feel like they can do anything.”
GEM members handled cold-calling potential speakers and organizing all the logistics of the day, as well as drumming up interest from local middle schools.
“When you’re reaching out to women who are much older than you and they’re really successful, you think, ‘I don’t know if they’re going to take me seriously,’” said GEM member Eliza Feffer. Reaching out to speakers “taught me that when you’re passionate about a project and you’re confident, they’re going to enjoy your message and want to be part of it,” she added.
Feffer was among those who visited local private and public schools to personally invite girls to attend. They have also partnered with Girls Inc. of Orange County to spread the word. Tickets are $12, but waivers are available.
“We really want a diverse range of girls coming in,” Feffer said.
GEMfest was also awarded a $2,500 grant from Los Angeles non-profit Visionary Women, to help defray costs of the event.
“The feeling that our students have — that they want to reach out to younger women — they’re seeing the next generation
above them feels the same way about them,” said their advisor, Director of Communications and Marketing Torrey Olins. “It’s a nice circle. Everyone’s paying it forward.”
above them feels the same way about them,” said their advisor, Director of Communications and Marketing Torrey Olins. “It’s a nice circle. Everyone’s paying it forward.”
Sage Hill School
A college preparatory independent day school for grades 7-12.
20402 Newport Coast Drive, Newport Coast, CA 92657
Phone: 949.219.0100 | Fax: 949.219.1399
20402 Newport Coast Drive, Newport Coast, CA 92657
Phone: 949.219.0100 | Fax: 949.219.1399
Sage Hill School admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the School. The School does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship programs, and athletic and other School administered programs.