On Wednesday, October 18th, members of the Student Government Association (SGA), Maddie McKean ’18 and Priyanka Dondeti ’19 commenced their first meeting with the 3rd  and 4th form girls. Both McKean and Dondeti have made it their initiative to mentor underformers by holding open group discussions on relationships, friendships, and girl power. 

The program began when former SGA Vice President Eda Ozbay ’17 felt younger students at The Hill School lacked positive influences. Ozbay start a program that would address the ongoing tensions between male and female students at the school.

In the 2015-2016 school year, female students wrote in The Hill News and gave chapel talks addressing gender-related issues at Hill.

“[There was] a culminating gender divide [at Hill], that allowed boys to treat girls poorly without repercussions,” McKean said.

Amid these concerns, many forums took place to coincide with the over gender issues.

“Although the conversations occurred, they rarely spotlighted the issues and treatment female students went through, and were given a tacit approach,” Maggie Pearson ’18 said.

Pearson, a co-president of the Girls Understanding Their Strengths (GUTS) club, has made it her responsibility to facilitate these meetings with the 3rd  and 4th  form girls.

Bennett Booth-Genthe ’19 is a male representative and participates by bringing a different perspective to the open discussions.

Pearson hopes the younger girls will leave their discussions feeling confident in themselves and each other.

“I really liked [the discussion] because I got to talk to somebody who knows the people at this school and the environment,” Elizabeth McAlpin ’22 said. “I really appreciated their input and advice for my future at Hill.”

The small groups will continue to meet randomly once a month for the remainder of the year. In addition, 3rd and 4th form boys will participate in a similar program led by SGA Vice President  Reed Bauer ’18.