Gabi, 12th Grade

My mom immigrated to the U.S. from China, and I was born and raised in lower Manhattan/Chinatown. Going into high school, I was shy and never pictured myself being a leader. As an Asian American young woman, there is the stereotype of passivity and submissiveness that has haunted me throughout my life. My school is STEM focused, and the STEM courses are male dominated. The girls are often scared to participate, scared to be heard. In a male dominated society, girls and young women deserve to be heard as much as everyone else.

With this belief, I joined Girls Inc. of NYC’s Teen Leadership Circles (TLC). Over the last two years I recruited and led a leadership circle of 30 participants called Female Force, a safe space to empower girls at school. This group was key to finding a community after the isolation of the pandemic.

Girls Inc. of NYC has been transformative—truly instrumental to developing me into the person I am today. I am more confident, I take more risks, and I do not hold back out of fear of failure. I’m proud of who I’ve grown into. I can take with me what I learned in Girls Inc. as I approach the future. Whatever I face in life, I’m ready.