Members of WE Club participate in an icebreaker activity at their first meeting of the year. Photo Courtesy of Anna Walker. 

The Women Empowerment (WE) Club at East began its first meeting of the year, focusing on creating a lasting impact and building a supportive community. Led by senior and club president Anna Walker, the group is determined to not only address gender equality issues but also empower its members with practical skills that break traditional gender barriers.

Walker explained that the club was formed to give women and allies a space to discuss and tackle gender-related issues.

“I felt OE needed a safe space for women and people who want to support women to have a community where they could collaborate on women’s issues,” Walker said.

This year, the WE Club is taking its mission a step further, aiming to provide more hands-on opportunities for members to learn traditionally male-dominated skills, such as self-defense.

“We want to continue to target things OE needs to improve on in regards to gender equality,” Walker said. “Nothing we do will be without impact.”

One of the club’s newest members and junior, Milo Perez, joined out of a desire to support women in meaningful ways.

“I’m a big believer that women should have protected spaces where they can freely be themselves in a society that constantly encourages harmful behavior against them,” Perez said. “Seeing such a community that empowers women in my school drew me to join.”

The club’s welcoming environment created a comfortable atmosphere, turning the first meeting into a friendly gathering.

“It was so friendly, and while I felt nervous and felt a little ‘imposter-syndrome,’ it went away because the ladies were so welcoming. It really felt like we were all just friends,” Perez said.

Looking ahead, Perez hopes to gain life-long skills through the WE Club.

“I’m joining this club because I hope to gain an experience of a lifetime that will help me for years to come by supporting every other woman in my life with what I learned through this club.”

For second-year member and current senior, Karolina Vainius, the success of the WE Club last year was a major reason for returning.

“I had a lot of fun last year, and we did a lot of activities that were actually beneficial,” Vainiuss said. “I started to become friends with most people in the club, so I wanted to continue and see all the new people as well that joined this year.”

Vainius hopes the club can expand its reach this year not only in terms of membership but also by engaging in more events and outings. Her standout experience from last year was the club’s collaboration with Mutual Ground, a local nonprofit organization that supports survivors of domestic and sexual violence.

“The Mutual Ground volunteering was really great because we got to actually help real people hands on and in my opinion that’s what it’s all about,” Vainius said. “It would be really nice if we could go a few more times this year during both semesters because those small things like organizing menstrual products really do make a difference.”

The club’s sponsor, math teacher Kaitlyn Carnahan, emphasized the importance of creating a safe space for discussing gender equality. She also highlighted the value of helping students organize events that align with the school’s priorities.

“I was inspired by our club president Anna Walker. She brought the club up to me and I thought it was definitely something that was lacking in our school,” Carnahan said. “I hope this club creates a safe space for members to tackle gender equality issues. I hope it encourages our members to continue to work hard in school and make an impact on our community.”

Carnahan also stressed the importance of support from the administration, fundraising, and event planning to ensure the club’s success.

“We want to encourage women to pursue interests in male-dominated fields and promote acceptance in our community,” Carnahan said.

As the year begins, the Women Empowerment Club at OE is focused on creating meaningful change. This includes promoting gender equality at school and empowering members to break boundaries in male-dominated activities and fields. Long-term, Walker hopes the club can foster a school culture that embraces and supports women.

“I hope WE Club continues to advocate for women at OE and long-term makes it a school that embraces and supports women,” Walker said. “Long-term I’d also hope that women would feel empowered to do more male-dominated activities or classes, such as autos club, woodworking, STEM classes, fishing, or certain sports.”

As the WE Club moves forward, its combination of hands-on activities, advocacy, and community-building will help shape its legacy at East.

Written by Senior Soha-Fatima Osman. Edited by staff writers for Oswego East’s online news magazine The Howl.