“She’s The First” held their first awareness panel with speakers Lindsay Zwecker and Shayna Sheehan to discuss the values of female education on Thursday, Nov. 10.

She’s the First Dickinson is a chapter of the non-profit organization, She’s the First. The organization provides scholarships to girls in low-income countries so that they may be the first in their families to graduate from high school. The organization has campus chapters all around the world.

The purpose of the panel was to introduce She’s The First’s initiatives and values with the campus community. After the panel, 25 women signed up to become members. She’s The First will be holding its first meeting as a campus chapter this coming Thursday, Nov. 17.

President Olivia Lyman ’19, initiated the Dickinson chapter of “She’s the First” following her summer internship with Diamonds Unleashed, a profits-for purpose company that works with She’s The First, said Lyman.

Diamonds Unleashed works “in inspiring confidence and empowering young women with micro-finance and educational opportunities,” said Lyman. After learning that She’s the First has campus chapters all over the world, she promptly applied for a Dickinson chapter. “ After presenting my case to Student Senate a few weeks into the semester, She’s the First Dickinson was officially recognized, and we were off!” said Lyman.

Lyman also reached out to now Secretary Katherine Schmidt ’19.

“I have seen how passionate [Lyman] is about giving back to the community so I decided to help her because I knew that this would be something valuable to be a part of,” says Schmidt.

“Women’s equality and women’s education is something I have always been interested in and this organization is a great opportunity to give back to something that to me is so meaningful. I wanted to take the resources that Dickinson has to offer in order to help raise awareness and support for all of the young women who are not as fortunate as we are and this organization is the perfect way to do that,” Schmidt explained.

Lyman also believes that education is a key tool to making a difference in the world.

“With She’s the First Dickinson, I truly hope to create a community where education equality is openly talked about. I think it’s incredibly important to realize the value and impact that having an education has not only on oneself, but on the world” she says. “The more educated people we have in this world, the more of a difference we are able to make, the more peace we are able to spread and the more love we are able to share.”

“She’s The First” Dickinson chapter’s Executive Board includes: Olivia Lyman as Chapter President, Julianna Barr as Vice President, JoAnna Wood as Global Citizenship Chair, Brenna Nimkoff as Public Relations Chair, Kelly O’Hern as Treasurer, Jessie Doyle as Community Engagement Chair and Katie Schmidt as Secretary.

“We, as a campus and as a community have the chance to change these girls’ lives for the betterment of the world. We have the chance to inspire them, to allow them to believe in themselves and to know that their minds and self-worth are special and very much needed in this world. We have to show these incredible girls that they are worth it, and we have to do this together” Lyman added.

For more information about “She’s The First” Dickinson chapter, you can reach out to president Olivia Lyman via her email: [email protected]