Feeling “adequate” has become increasingly difficult for teenage girls in today’s society; young women feel antagonized by pressures concerning school, relationships, and the future.

On April 26^th, 2014, students from Lower Merion and Harriton High Schools organized the first Girls’ Leadership Conference—“GLAM”—for the purpose of addressing womens’ empowerment on a teenage scale. Graduates of LMSD subjectively reflected on the struggles they experienced throughout high school. In doing so they aimed to lend a helping hand to the community’s current generation of teenagers.

Lower Merion High School senior, Maddy McFarland, served as the head student coordinator for the event. The conference coordinator was Paula Singer of Positive Youth Development Strategies & Girls Leadership Programs.

In developing GLAM, the squad’s key members created various outcome goals and mission statements with the hope of leaving each girl in attendance with a token of knowledge that they could apply to future situations. Specifically, GLAM’s leading staff hoped to address leadership skills, tricks to being confident, modern gender issues, and discrimination in the work force and school atmosphere. Additionally, the girls had the opportunity to meet with multiple college mentors who experienced gender inequality, during their time as students and faculty members.

Stephanie Humphrey, gave a keynote presentation on female class and character.  She is a “tech-life” expert, combining her passion for engineering with her motivation to make a difference in the world, specifically with regard to girls’ empowerment.

Following her speech, various Bryn Mawr College representatives, “Wharton Women” from the University of Pennsylvania, Jennifer Schelter from Mindful Strategies for Living, and Jenny Mills from Penn Programs for Mindfulness conducted subprograms. In these programs, girls had the opportunity to select which activities they wanted to take part in. These activities ranged from “dressing for success” to developing stand out college applications.

Julia Udicious, a junior at Harriton, noted, “As a member of the Student Planning Committee, I couldn’t have been happier with how the conference turned out. I think the morning was a valuable and engaging experience for every girl who attended, and I hope that next year we can expand the conference to include more members of the community.”

The GLAM conference provided young, teenage girls with hope and reassurance. GLAM’s relatable staff inspires young women to embrace who they are and to enjoy their youth.