how to celebrate international womens day

International Women’s Day is a day to honor the achievements and contributions of women around the world, and we can think of no better way to celebrate than by introducing you to a few young women who are changing our world for the better. We partnered with UNiDAYS to support their search for the 2019 Student Woman of the Year and while there were literally thousands of deserving, inspiring, kickass nominees (seriously–the future looks bright, y’all), these are the finalists, including overall winner Sofia Ongele, whose stories ultimately captured the judges’ hearts. Read on and see why: We’re pretty sure they’ll capture yours, too.

Sofia Ongele–Winner

A Computer Science student at Pace University in New York City, Sofia has used her tech skills to empower other young women. She has spent her past two summers teaching teenage girls to code through the Kode With Klossy program (from which she herself graduated in 2016). After someone close to her was sexually assaulted, Sofia turned her coding knowledge into action–and activism–by creating ReDawn, an app to support survivors of sexual abuse. Check out ReDawn on iTunes or on Instagram.

Yasmin Mendoza

Clovis Community College Economics student Yasmin Mendoza spearheaded the March for our Lives in Fresno, CA. In addition to founding her community’s march, she and a team organized a congressional town hall–and subsequently convinced local legislators to increase funding to school-based mental health initiatives in Fresno’s K-12 public school districts. She continues her activism now at the Dolores Huerta Foundation, a training center for community organizing, leadership development, and policy advocacy.

Natsai Ndebele

Natsai majors in computer science at Georgia State University and works tirelessly to promote diversity in the technology industry, volunteering with organizations including Girls Who Code and Black Girls Code. She even co-founded Our Journey Through Code, a community and web series that aims to inspire minorities to get into the tech world by highlighting women of color in computing.

Ose Arheghan

Trans rights advocate Ose is currently completing a dual degree in Political Science and sexuality studies at Ohio State University. They work to highlight the importance of using inclusive pronouns, amplify the voices of nonbinary and gender non conforming people, and encourage identity inclusivity. Included in their efforts: contributing to GLAAD’s national blog,  running a Trans 101 training for students, and presenting a workshop at The Midwest Bisexual Lesbian Gay Transgender Asexual College Conference.

Leah Haidar

Bryn Mawr College Sociology student Leah founded Party Project to give low-income and homeless youth in her community a chance to celebrate their birthdays for free. With the help of several social service agencies, and funding from various grants, her organization distributes kits that contain all of the items needed to host a fun birthday party for 8-12 people–no strings attached. To date, over 350 birthday party kits have been given out to children in the Eugene, Oregon area.

To learn more about these amazing women, head over to the UNiDAYS site.

How are you changing the world on International Women’s Day? Tell us in the comments!