Long Beach, Ca – Female Leadership Academy, FLA, recently had their first activity and first meeting of the year on September 14th and September 19th. The first activity was an Arts & Crafts Picnic held at the Recreation Park, where they conversed, snacked, and painted at the park. At this event, many club members introduced themselves to each other and showed off their creative skills during the painting competition. At the 1st meeting, they gave information about the officers Angela Pimentel, Sielo Cabrera, Valeria Antillon, Amara Luke, Melanie Gonzalez, Helen Price, and the club’s charter, Ms. Harrison.
FLA is a district-wide club focused on uplifting and empowering women, acknowledging their intelligence, and creating a stronger bond between the women on campus. The club is meant to be a safe place for girls on campus to come to and be themselves without judgment and encourage girls to be leaders in all different aspects of their lives. They make it very clear that one of the large aspects of being in FLA is being a leader, whether by maintaining good grades, standing up for yourself, or being one in your community.
Vice President Sielo Cabrera said, “FLA is important to me because it creates a safe space for girls who may not have that at home or outside of school, and I think that creating that sense of community and keeping that community in sisterhood is extremely important and can be really valuable to you later in life.” A large focus of the club, according to the LBUSD page about it, is instilling qualities in the girls that will lead to overall success in life. This is provided in ways such as the various volunteer opportunities promoted to FLA members by club officers.
While the club already has set in stone objectives created by LBUSD, FLA’s President Angela Pimentel stated, “I was really new to the school and the district, and I wanted to be a part of the opportunities here.” When asked about her reason for joining the club as a freshman. She also said that one of her goals for the club is to create a sense of community and sisterhood from one woman to another on campus. The club’s Vice President stated, “My main goal right now is to focus on the freshmen…because freshmen are going to be the voices of FLA for the next three years, I think it’s really important that we focus on them.”
It’s very important to focus on the future as a senior member of the club because those freshmen could become future officers. Informing new Bruins about FLA is crucial to not only the growth of the club but in growing the confidence in the younger students. One of the Social Media Managers, Helen Price, who is also a junior, said that after being in the club for three years, “It’s made me more resilient, more outspoken, and it’s made me more confident by allowing me to be surrounded by a group of like-minded women.”
The club is extremely beneficial to all students by providing a sense of interconnection throughout campus in a place where you feel welcomed and accepted. A sentiment held by most members is that FLA has made them find a second home at Wilson and allowed them to feel comfortable both inside and outside of school through the connections they have made. The club meets every Thursday from 3:45 to 4:45 in the CCRC (Room 1212).
Gallery Photos By FLA Social Media Team
