A recently graduated from social work, Abby makes it clear from the start that she’s not shy about pursuing what she wants to do.
In high school, Abby once sought help from a school social worker when she was feeling anxious. But instead of making her feel better, she walked away from her conversation feeling like she was alone in her own experiences.
Instead of being disappointed, Abby thought of another way to handle the situation. “I had those little moments where I was like, ‘I think I can do your job better than you,'” she says.
Since then, Abby knew she wanted to do social work.
Despite thinking she would be studying in an urban setting, Abby found herself at UIUC and was surprised to find the same diversity of people, communities and social issues she had expected in a big city. rice field.
“Champaign-Urbana is a global city in the middle of a cornfield,” says Abbey. “It was naive to believe that there would be no urban problems here, because the problems that are happening here are happening in Chicago.”
She fell in love with the campus and found a place she could call her own in the School of Social Work among the professors and peers who had supported her throughout.
“All the professors knew me personally. They were really there to prioritize my well-being and success.”
These relationships made it easier for Abby to carve her own path. Her focus is on the policy side, specifically menstrual equity and menstrual policy, rather than a clinical focus.
When asked how she discovered her passion for menstrual fairness, Abby offers a retrospective smile.
In her sophomore year of high school, she wrote for her school’s newspaper that she wanted to tell an impactful story. When she saw the problem of lack of sanitary napkins in the bathroom at school, she took action.
“It turns out my high school should have already offered it, actually under Illinois law. [period products]This was called the “Learn with Dignity Act” and mandated the provision of free menstrual products in the restrooms of all middle and high schools. So I wrote about it. ”
Her story sparked a storm of opposition from school administrators, but Abby never backed down.
“I was pulled into the principal’s office, and he was essentially [said], ‘This made the school look bad. you shouldn’t do that anymore.
“No,” Abby told him.
The school remained hesitant to change policy, so Abby told her story to other media outlets. After talking to her local radio station, she got the chance to make a fuss on a national scale.
“I wrote an op-ed teen vogue. And finally, [my administrators] “How can I help you?”
When they asked her what she wanted, she revealed that her intention was never to gain notoriety for herself.
“It’s not about me. I’m doing this because I have access to these platforms. But ultimately it’s for my students. I was a senior at this point. I was due to leave next year I just wanted to confirm this [change] Implemented before I left. ”
And thanks to her tireless efforts, free sanitary products have been installed in restrooms across the district.
Not all high school students had the confidence needed to challenge the school board, but Abby’s parents taught her from an early age to never back down.
“My mother is one of the most outspoken women I know. They gave me.”
Abby took that lesson to heart. She makes her own rules in her life and wants the same freedom in her future career.In her social work field, Abby knows she’ll get that opportunity. .
“I realized that you can study social work, you don’t have to be a social worker. You can also be the leader of a group. [field] It offers a lot of flexibility. ”
After graduating in just three years, Abby is currently pursuing her master’s degree at the University of Michigan. She intends to use her period policy experience, but she knows her future is wide open with the flexibility of her degree.
“I really want to work with people and help people. I could definitely see myself years ahead and perhaps explore clinical focus and become a therapist. I just want to get more experience in life and get older and wiser because of it, but I definitely want to focus on policy and human rights and stick to social justice.”
While some may feel uncomfortable that their career isn’t perfectly planned, Abby feels ready for anything.
“It’s really just leading with passion,” Abby says of where her future will take her.[It’s about] Believe in yourself and be ambitious. ”
If there’s one thing Abby doesn’t lack, it’s ambition to pursue what she wants. She sees every day as an opportunity to make a difference, and in the fight for a better future, she sees no as her answer.
