GEMfest to help middle school girls find their shine during Women's History Month

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. (KABC) -- Mentorship and inspiration will shine at GEMfest in Orange County this weekend.

The Girls' Empowerment Movement, organized by high school students, builds confidence and leadership skills for about 200 middle school girls each year.

"I grew up going to the Women's March with my mom, and so from the very beginning, women's empowerment and finding a community of women that uplift at a young age was really important to me," said Annika Shah, GEMfest co-president.

"I hope to be able to bring that same mindset of positivity and confidence to young girls during that formative period."

The upcoming eighth annual GEMfest will take place March 7, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., at Sage Hill School in Newport Beach.

Participants will attend their choice of two workshops on topics including sustainable fashion, photography and printing, robotics, STEAM, magazine production and more.

"A lot of middle school girls look up to people who are older than them, and try to mimic them in a way, and just bounce off of their energy," Vivi Ta, GEMfest co-president, said.

"When we have workshops with girls who love Taylor Swift, they're kind of just teaching younger girls that it's okay to like Taylor Swift, no matter what anyone else says."

The majority of workshops will be led by high school students that are part of campus clubs.

"We found that it's much easier for the high schoolers to engage with the middle schoolers and find areas of commonality or common interests," Shah said. "It's easier to look up to a high schooler as a role model for the near future."

Attendees will also look forward to a keynote presentation from Orange County firefighter and Sage Hill alumna Emily Lassiter.

The educational day will conclude with a workshop held by The Confetti Project, where students will learn to celebrate the small things.

"We have grown up in the social media time period where you're constantly seeing other young girls and evaluating your worth that way," Shah said.

"It's important to find a community in person and be able to engage with people that are living similar lives at a young age, and find a community, find friends, find empowerment."

GEMfest not only empowers middle school girls to follow their passions, but provides a chance for high school students to grow as the next generation of community leaders.

"I've been able to create my own community of young women, that clearly have the same passions and values as I do," Shah said.

"I think GEMfest has been one of my favorite parts of high school, and so it has both been something that I can give back to the community and something that has given back to me in a lot of different ways."

"As a leader, it's definitely helped me understand that everybody has something to bring to the table," Ta said. "It's been really inspiring to see how much each girl can bring to our event, and how well they can work together, too."

Tickets for GEMfest are still available and can be purchased here.

Sage Hill School is located at 20402 Newport Coast Dr., in Newport Beach.

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