DANVERS — “I want to help girls find the missing pieces in their puzzles just like Girls Inc. helped me find mine.”
These were the words of Arlene Valerio Simo, one of three winners of this year’s “Girl Hero” awards presented at the 34th celebration luncheon Thursday at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in Danvers.
The other two winners were Carolina Diaz and Annie Joseph. All three are seniors in the Lynn Public Schools.
The motto of Girls Inc. is “Strong, Smart and Bold,” as was signified by the preponderance of bright red dresses, jerseys, jackets and shawls that adorned the women — and some men — in attendance.
Saying that the three award winners, as well as all the girls in the organization, were already leaders in their community, Girls Inc. President and CEO Stephanie J. Hull, who was the principal speaker, said, “we can see that the girls here are already markedly more successful than many of their peers.
“Looking at these girls, I see the future. My future,” Hull said. “These girls are leading now. I cannot wait to see what that future holds with these girls as leaders.”
Each of the three award winners, all of whom received scholarships, described formative years in which struggle was the main component.
“I tried all kinds of organizations and clubs but I could never find a passion for any of them, or see their purposes,” said Diaz, an English High senior who will attend Salem State University in hopes of becoming a pediatric oncologist.
“But when I was 11, my mother was diagnosed with lymphoma,” she said. Her father, who was struggling to hold things together for his family, introduced her to Girls Inc. “because he knew I needed some female role models. And I thought ‘here we go again.'”
But, she said, she and the organization clicked, and through her involvement with the various clubs and activities there, she gained confidence.
“Girls Inc. showed me that I could be bold,” Diaz said.
Simo is a senior at Classical who hopes to be a psychologist and is leaning toward attending Suffolk University. She joined Girls Inc. when she was in the eighth grade, a year after her family came to the U.S. Somewhat daunted by learning a new language, as well as living up to her parents’ high expectations, Simo was introduced to Girls Inc. by a friend. She took to it, and began to blossom, she said, until the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
“Being at home during that time was like being in prison,” she said.
But, she said, it was important to keep working with the younger kids she was mentoring. She credits Girls Inc. with finding the missing pieces of her life’s puzzle, and one of the reasons she wants to study psychology is so she can do the same thing for young girls.
Joseph, who will graduate from English in June, studied AP biology among her courses and took early-college courses as well. She is currently “negotiating” with a number of schools for the best scholarship offer.
When Joseph was 4 years old, her mother moved from Haiti to the U.S., leaving her behind for the time being. She was in Haiti for the devastating 2010 earthquake that killed between 100,000 and 160,000 people.
“It only lasted 35 seconds,” she said, “but it seemed like 35 hours.”
She shuttled back and forth between Haiti and the Dominican Republic on the island of Hispaniola. Finally, when she was in the eighth grade, she joined her mother in Lynn. And she immediately found her way to Girls Inc.
Like the other two winners, she has taken part in several Girls Inc. activities, including peer leadership and mentoring.
Thanks to Girls Inc., she said, “I embrace my story as a powerful product of who I am.”
Executive Director Deb Ansourlian recognized three national Girls Inc. scholars: Victory Aziegbe of English, Yolaine Pierre of Lynn Tech, and Gabby Alvarez of Classical.
The number of Girls Inc. scholars gravitating toward science is not coincidence, said Hall. One of the hallmarks of the 1974 Title IX legislation was that it required that science and math fields be opened equally to women. The fruits of that requirement are in accomplishments such as Kizzmekia Corbett’s work in the development of the Moderna COVID vaccine.
The event was emceed by Latoyia Edwards, an Emmy Award-winning anchor on NBC-10 in Boston, who is a Girls Inc. alumna.
