By Zoe Redlich ’20
In celebration of Women’s Futures Month, the Simon Says Girls Club hosted inspirational speakers on Thursdays at break throughout March. In general, the club meets to discuss how both girls and women fit into modern day society.
The first speaker was Keren Johnson ’02 on March 2. Johnson now works in the Advancement Office. However, before returning to the Middle School, Johnson worked with both Hillary Clinton and the Obama administration.
“She came in to talk to the girls about what it was like to be in those positions and how the men treat the women differently and how you have to dress differently. So pretty much that is the whole theme of the whole month for women’s futures, to have women come in who are in positions that have typically been held by men,” Attendance and Health Coordinator Brenda Simon, head of the club, said.
Middle School Chaplain Rabbi Emily Feigenson spoke about her journey to becoming a rabbi on March 9. According to Simon, Feigenson knew from a very young age that she wanted to be a rabbi, but there were many obstacles in her way.
“She helped explain how she kept going after she realized that it’s not normal for a woman to be a rabbi. It was helpful for her to explain how she managed to make a living in that area,” club member Isa Sylbert ’22 said.
The next speaker was Head of School Jeanne Huybrechts, who came to speak on March 16. Huybrechts is retiring at the end of this year, and as a parting gift, the Girls Club gave her a sweatshirt.
Following Huybrechts, seventh grade dean Kate Benton visited the club on March 23 to speak about her struggles in the entertainment industry and how she overcame them.
The last speaker was Simon herself on Thursday.
“I have a couple of issues that I want to talk about, such as the things that came out about women with this past election,” Simon said a few weeks before she was scheduled to speak. According to the communications director of the club, Eunice Kiang ’20, students learned a lot from listening to the speakers.
“I think they’re learning a lot about other women’s experiences so that they can apply it to their own lives,” Kiang said.
