Nafeesa Andrabi Attends
‘Take the Lead Conference’ at Mt. Holyoke College
Pictures
above: Nafeesa Andrabi with children
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South
Hadley, Mass: Nafeesa Andrabi, a junior at Claremont High
School and resident of Claremont, Calif., was one of 42 young
women who participated in Mount Holyoke College’s leadership
program, Take the Lead, which took place September28 to October
1. This year, 673 candidates were nominated by their counselors,
teachers, religious or community leaders, and other adult
mentors. The long weekend, offering young women a range of
workshops and activities on leadership, focused on mentoring,
diversity, and social activism.
Tapping into teenagers desires to make a difference on such
issues as violence, environmentalism, and poverty, Take the
Lead helped Andrabi develop an action project to address a
social issue of her choice. The highly selective women’s
college will award $500 prizes to three completed action projects.
Andrabi is the daughter of Professor Tahir and Shaila Andrabi
of Claremont, Calif., and Pakistan. Her action project is
titled ‘Smile-a-Child’ and will aim to help earthquake
traumatized children in Pakistan find their smile.
Each student was paired with a Mount Holyoke College student
mentor trained at the College’s Harriet L. and Paul
M. Weissman Center for Leadership and the Liberal Arts. The
mentors worked one-on-one with the students to develop their
action project, and will continue to offer advice, feedback,
and support through email for up to six months, until the
project is complete.
Patricia VandenBerg, director of Take the Lead, says about
the program, “Take the Lead continues Mount Holyoke’s
proud tradition of cultivating powerful and effective women
leaders. With the challenges our world now faces, young teen
leaders are needed more than ever.”
Founded in 1837 by educational pioneer Mary Lyon, Mount Holyoke
College is one of the nation’s finest liberal arts colleges.
Rigorous academics and an internationally diverse student
body create an environment that prepares women to meet the
challenges of our increasingly complex world.
Nafeesa has already made progress on the project by securing
an agreement with the LA Unified School District to donate
surplus school supplies to selected schools in the Pakistan
earthquake zone. For more information and ways to help on
Nafeesa’s earthquake project, contact andrabis@hotmail.com.
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