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‘Ideas Live Forever’ – Sage Hill Students Seek Mentorship at Mattel
Sage Hill students recently joined a cohort of 50 girls for GenHERation Discovery Days at Mattel headquarters in El Segundo, earning an insider’s look at the team behind Barbie and other childhood favorites.
Breeze Estrada ’27, Isabella Huang ’27, Katarina Isakov ’27, Charlie Lee ’27 and Saffiya Sarwono ’27 enjoyed an exclusive tour and learned from Mattel leaders during career panels. All five happen to be leaders in the Girls Empowerment Movement Service Learning Group that produces the annual GEMfest for middle schoolers at Sage Hill.
“I wouldn't have expected it to be so colorful and fun,” Saffiya said. “Everyone working at Mattel just seems like they love their job and like they seem super happy.”
Mattel professionals working in divisions ranging from marketing to legal shared their own education and career journeys with groups of high schoolers.
“We talked with one of the women who is on the legal side of things, and she said, ‘you know your worth and trust in the things you're saying. You just have to have confidence in yourself,’” Isabella said.
The headquarters tour included a glimpse of the first Barbie ever made and a human-size doll box emblazoned with “Barbie: The Movie.”
Sage Hill students also enjoyed the latest GenHERation x Mattel Barbie simulation, which helped develop workforce skills by envisioning a marketing campaign to develop a new product that celebrates Mattel's 80th anniversary.
Sage Hill and GenHERation have a long-standing partnership that brings the annual Summer Intensive program to Sage Hill’s campus for a week of enrichment and experiential learning.
Saffiya said it was heartening to meet like-minded high school girls from other schools who were just as driven and welcoming.
“I think it really helped us build connections. We got some of their LinkedIn accounts. I think it was just super helpful, overall,” she said.
The GEM team plans to harness their renewed self-confidence and leadership skills for hosting another day of mentorship and fun for middle school girls at Sage Hill early next year.
"I feel so lucky to have gotten to visit Mattel,” Katarina said. “The professionals there taught me that even if you do not get your dream job or into your dream school, as long as you use the resources available to you, you can still make it just as far.”
The visit to Mattel visit is a prime example of the types of real-world opportunities student expect, especially in the Sage Hill Internship Program.
"We’re so proud that our students had the chance to visit Mattel and see the innovation behind one of the world’s most iconic brands," said Verginie Touloumian, Assistant Director to the Sage Center for Service Learning and Internships. "Experiences like this expose our students to a range of careers, showing them that just like Barbie, they can become anything they aspire to be."
The visit to Mattel visit is a prime example of the types of real-world opportunities student expect, especially in the Sage Hill Internship Program.
"We’re so proud that our students had the chance to visit Mattel and see the innovation behind one of the world’s most iconic brands," said Verginie Touloumian, Assistant Director to the Sage Center for Service Learning and Internships. "Experiences like this expose our students to a range of careers, showing them that just like Barbie, they can become anything they aspire to be."
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.