March is Women’s History Month, and March 8th is International Women’s Day. At Mountain Ridge, women are supported and upheld by the club Society of Female Scholars. This club is full of juniors and seniors that meet a weighted GPA requirement of 3.5, have an attendance of 70%, participate in at least two events, and submit twenty hours of community service per year.
Mrs Larios is the club sponsor who detailed her experience with the club, dating back to her high school years.
“So, when I went to Mountain Ridge, I was in SOFS as well. So right off the get-go, it was very important for me to keep up that tradition.”
She explained COVID-19 truly impacted the club and left it very debilitated, which is when Mrs Larios came in to restore the club.
“But, ultimately, I wanted to have SOFS restart. I think it’s super important for girls, young girls, to have a place where they can feel supported, feel heard. Especially right before they go into adulthood just because being a female is hard. I think that when women work together they can have more confidence. I know when I was in SOFS that’s what I wanted, and I feel that’s what I got. I feel I was prepared for college and life outside of school.”
Larios mentioned her daughters, who get involved in SOFS events. She can feel the impact of SOFS even within her own daughters and their lives.
On the topic of impact, Larios recalled the crowning commencement which takes place for seniors, in order to celebrate all of their hard work. In this ceremony, she was able to see the tangible hard work and effect of SOFS.
“I did the math to see how many volunteer hours it would have been in the past two years,” she began. “And to think like, wow, how many hours these girls gave back to their community, and to think that this was not happening a few years ago.”
Larios described how the growth and development of SOFS has had a positive impact on the community as a whole. More and more organizations and teachers have reached out to ask for help with events.
“We are getting this reputation of: we need help, I know SOFS will help,” Larios said with a smile.
Erica Eastland, a student and President of SOFS, spoke on the importance of SOFS.
“It is extremely important to have SOFS because with having such a large student body, it can extremely difficult to facilitate community and belonging among so many students. However, SOFS allows female students to not only come together and find a sense of belonging, but also learn how to be a rising leader. This club is truly a display of our female ancestors and all women had to fight for in the past regarding education and leadership opportunities.”
To celebrate Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day, Erica mentioned their new initiative to make a newsletter.
Jaslynn Pino, a new Social Media officer for SOFS, is credited with the idea and spoke on further details.
“We released the first issue of the SOFS newspaper! I’m so incredibly excited to see what other ideas we can come up with to turn this into a tradition. The first issue addresses what the newspaper is about, introduces the officers, and a member of the month.”
This new initiative directly boosts confidence and community not only within SOFS, but at Mountain Ridge, showcasing how International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month can be felt within the boundaries of Mountain Ridge.
