Highlighting Girlsbuild: building possibilities

Every year, new clubs appear and add on to the existing list of clubs at this school. One new club that has stood out this year is Girlsbuild. 

Girlsbuild is an organization from the LA Fund (a group that works with schools in LA County) that was started in 2014. The larger program in LA county aims to encourage girls to participate in their community and foster skills like leadership initiative. Additionally, it aims to expose individuals to opportunities relating to careers based around S.T.E.A.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics). These two aims relate to the program’s main mission: to address the small percentage of women participating in politics, business, and other areas where women are underrepresented. 

Students like senior Jasmine Perez as well as the club’s advisor, Mr. Gervais — a new business teacher at this school — saw the club as a great opportunity for the students. For Mr. Gervais, the program is nothing new; he was a Girlsbuild advisor at Los Altos High School for two years. 

The school is one of 61 schools of different levels that participate in the overarching Girlsbuild program. Part of being in this program is the focus on three pillars: civic engagement; health and wellness; and S.T.E.A.M plus digital skills. From this, schools have to put out a project relating to the pillars. An example of this at this school was the Financial Literacy Workshop hosted by the club in October. Currently, the club plans to push forward a new project for next year called Coffee Cart. 

“The [reason] we’re doing this is to have a place where no matter where [people] are from, [they] can come get a drink/snack before school starts, or after school ends,” Perez said. “The idea of it is to create a little community.” In addition to project Coffee Cart, the club hopes to bring opportunities for field trips and special events like competitions to students. 

When asked to use a single word to describe the club, Perez used the word motion. “We are always in motion, constantly building and creating an experience in the community and bringing opportunities to SGHS students,” Perez said. 
In the span of one school year, Girlsbuild has already opened new doors for students at this school. This is only the beginning of the club’s journey: one filled with endless possibilities ahead, all working to a pro’motion’ for a better future.