200+ MCPS Students Celebrate International Women’s Day at EmpowHERed Luncheon

The MCPS Student Leadership & Extracurricular Activities Unit and MoCo EmpowHER held the first EmpowHERed Leaders Luncheon to celebrate International Women’s Day on Friday, March 8 with over 200 students in attendance for the event.

“More than 200 female and non-binary students united at the Universities of Shady Grove for a special event where they learned about other inspiring MCPS female student leaders and their unique journey to success in various fields like art, performance, activism, business and more,” per MCPS. Student presenters included:

• Advika Agarwal (Richard Montgomery High School), internationally acclaimed activist and president of Compostology
• Chloe Ayissi-Etoh (Wootton High School), business owner of Cholana and fashion designer
• Charlyn Chu (Richard Montgomery High School), Washington Post Writer and athletic activist
• Gretchen Gilmore (Wootton High School), President of MoCo Pride Youth
• Mia Minus (Blake High School), lyrical dancer
• Katie Musick (Quince Orchard High School), singer and guitarist
• Titanes Salseros (Einstein High School), Latin Dance Team
  • Sarai Bautista
  • Delany Cabrera
  • Julisa Castro
  • Luciana Clavijo
  • Gisela Espinoza
  • Laurie Meza
  • Areli Ortiz
  • Sophia Quiroz
  • Alexis Ruiz
  • Savanah Sanchez
  • Katherine Zuniga

Per MCPS: “Every participant enjoyed a day of learning and connecting and all left with gift bags, raffles, inspiration and new friends. This event was made possible by the support of Montgomery County Educational Foundation, The Universities of Shady Grove, Staples, Texas Roadhouse, Kemor Contracting and a host of community members who donated to the program.

MoCo EmpowHER, a MCPS student leadership group for female and non-binary students, aims to create a safe space for open dialogue about women’s issues and provide leadership development opportunities.”