Meet some of the members of the Women’s Empowerment Club, a safe space for all people to discuss gender-related issues in society:
Gabi Hodgins, President, joined during her freshman year and liked seeing the officers coming together
with shared values. Gabi wants to keep the club going because “it’s just a good thing to have on campus.”
Valerie Liera, Treasurer, said her female role model is her third grade teacher Mrs. Ballistais, who empowered Valerie by teaching her to always be herself: “She was literally the GOAT, my savior and grace.”
One of the main values of the club is making sure everyone has a safe space to talk about a variety of topics including gender disparities in the world. During club meetings, the club talks about current events and keeps up with news that affects different people, particularly with a focus on stories that affect women. Gabi hopes to collaborate with other clubs including Mental Health Matters, UNICEF, Black Student Union, Human Kindness, and even the Drama/ITS Club because she believes they have shared values, such as wanting to create a safe space on campus. In addition to collaborating with other clubs, the Women’s Empowerment Club would also like to reach out to other organizations in the Chandler community for volunteering opportunities.
Their goal is to empower themselves and women by giving them the space to talk about their feelings and anything else they wish to discuss. Gabi believes people aren’t given a good time or place to talk about how they feel about themselves or things that bothers them, especially when the issues are gender based, so they strive to create a place that gives people a safe outlet through the Women’s Empowerment Club. In the club meeting we recently attended, they discussed different gender-related topics and learned about current events with history related to gender issues. Their mission is ensuring that people on campus are treated equally, encouraging girls to support other girls instead of putting others down, and modeling how to know when to express yourself and be able to enjoy your own interests.
While people often get caught up in their own busy lives, the club sees this as an opportunity to raise awareness and give a voice to those who need it most. Gabi and the Women’s Empowerment Club want to give people the opportunity to voice their opinions. Gabi emphasizes the need for such a space, saying, “I feel like there aren’t a lot of clubs on campus that are specifically just for women at a time when we need a lot of solidarity.” She calls it “honestly disheartening.” The members are currently working on organizing and publicizing a tampon drive that will begin in September and go on for about two weeks, collecting pads and tampons for local shelters. Right now they are hard at work creating announcements and posters to spread the word around campus. In the future, they also hope to work on inviting a voter registration drive to campus, support other clubs on campus, and volunteer at the Arizona Women’s Film Festival.
The Women’s Empowerment Club wants to provide you with a safe space on campus to talk about your interests and opinions and participate in different activities alongside other campus clubs. If you would like to learn more about or even join The Women’s Empowerment Club, check out their Instagram @chs_wec or speak to their advisor, Ms. Goldstein, or president, Gabi Hodgins.
