The lady devils recently had their first meeting which emphasized the importance of vulnerability. After taking a break due to COVID-19, staff members Shannon Sugamele, Elizabeth Lulis and Courtney Johnson have re-chartered the club.

The newly re-chartered club is one that began in 2020 to provide mentorship and relationship strengthening skills for the girls of South.

According to Shannon Sugamele, she thought it was time to get the club going again to offer support and insight to its members.

“Now that we’ve returned to some type of normalcy, why not bring it back,” Sugamele said. “I think that a lot of girls could use a female mentoring group like that in this school.”

Unlike other clubs, the Lady Devils meet during the school day to ensure the girls won’t have to miss a meeting. There is only one meeting a month, and each one focuses on a different issue for empowering the girls who are part of it. The discussions include matters of nutrition all the way to self defense.

Lady Devils meetings not only teach ways to cope with common issues women face, but also provide fun activities. The first meeting was a pizza lunch, allowing the members to get to know eachother better.

“We meet each month and each meeting covers a different topic,” Sugamele said. “For instance, we covered vulnerability and the challenges of being vulnerable but also the positives.” According to Sugamele, she would like the members to take away a new level of confidence and comfort from these meetings.

“We put a lot of pressure on ourselves to look and act a certain way, and this group is really to dismiss some of those myths and treat each other with more grace,” Sugamele said.

According to Caroline Jeup ’23, the last meeting went really well and she is looking forward to future meetings.

“We talked a lot about women empowerment and how it’s ok to be confident,” Jeup said. “We have a meeting next Friday and I hope we can all learn to just be nicer to everyone from this.” According to Jeup, the members watched videos on vulnerability and respect.

The Lady Devils welcome girls from all grades and give underclassmen and upperclassmen the opportunity to connect with each other. Evie Smith ’25 said she wasn’t sure what the group had in store for her but enjoyed the first meeting and their discussions. According to Smith the group bonded over lunch and got to know eachother.

“Originally Ms. Sobolack encouraged me to join the group and I’m really glad I did,” Smith said. “It’s a really good way to meet new people and have other people who have similar interests.”

While the students in the club may have different interests and ideas, they are all there because they are women who share similar experiences. The club is chartered by girls and for girls, giving them a safe place to share their thoughts and learn about topics that will benefit them.

Discussions like vulnerability can be difficult, but according to Sugamlele she wants the girls to feel comfortable with eachother.

“The point is for all of us to have that commonality of being a woman and what it’s like to be a woman in society,” Sugamele said.