Launch Her Future: Student Focus

Launch Her Future is arguably the grandest of GALA’s annual fundraising events. It includes presentations, a breakfast, and guest speakers, but its main focus is the students of GALA themselves. Teachers select students to represent their class, and from there, those chosen build small presentations to explain the purpose of the class to potential donors. These “potential donors” are all relatively established professionals in fields ranging from sports to computer science to business. The dedication of these students is not to be questioned; some arrived at the Ebell Theater (the location of the event) as early as 7:30 am. Here, you’ll see an overview of what our students put out there.

I attended the event as a student journalist, so everything I document here is from my own observations and questioning.

As I moved around the tables, I talked to various students from different grades and specialty areas. One of the first students I talked to was Lily F., who said she was looking forward to showing how creative GALA students are. This was highlighted in each person I spoke to.

There was a consistent sense of professionalism and drive among the students. Kavya S., representing AP Statistics, said that although AP math classes are challenging, they’re worthwhile because they connect so closely to the real world. Emely A. M. represented both AP Calculus and AP Physics by herself. Farida S. and Mia V. showed off their engineering skills and related essay awards.

Not only were academics adequately highlighted, but the various teams that GALA sponsors were present and ready to share their accomplishments. Jillian K. and India C. were in charge of sports: the varsity swimmer and varsity volleyball player talked about the importance of a solid team and growth behind a table packed with trophies. Bella K. and Michelle A. also had some teamwork-related stories to tell about their Science Bowl team. And, Yasmeen A. and Emily K. of Mock Trial talked about how encouraging it was to be able to see how the team got better every year, which was reflected in the numerous awards they set out.

Launch Her Future gave students the opportunity to represent their school. My firsthand experience showed me that they did it well, and I’m confident that the event will continue to be a success for years to come.