St. Joe offers a wide variety of clubs and organizations, and HERstory is one that truly strives to integrate female leadership and confidence into the world today. Some clubs are selective or competitive, but HERstory is open to everyone at St. Joe. In fact, it only meets once a month, so the commitment is not time-consuming, and members still get a lot out of each meeting and discussion.

Allie Westphale was last year’s co-president of HERstory and an alumna of St. Joe.

“I really became interested in inspiring more women, and that was my goal when leading the club,” Allie said. “Not only did we discuss topics of female rights and power, but also we donated to charities and organizations to support more women in St. Louis.”

The idea of HERstory is to educate St. Joe girls on women in history from the evolution of female rights to the amazing strides of female success today in the workforce. It strives to teach girls about the inspirational women who have come before them while encouraging them to incorporate equality and justice into their everyday lives at St. Joe in the near future.

Current co-president and senior Ella Kertz has been involved in HERstory for three years now, and she enjoys passing the message onto lower-classmen. 

“I really like the club because it constantly speaks to female empowerment,” Ella said.

Meetings consist of inspirational story presentations and discussions based on topics from club members. Additionally, there are club speakers sometimes.

“We actually have guest speakers outside of the comfort and bubble of our St. Joe community. For example, we had a speaker come January 14 named Maura Baker, a St. Joe alumna, who works for St. Martha’s Hall now,” Ella said.

Finally, HERstory has many fundraisers, drives, and volunteering opportunities. In the past, the club made gift bags for people at the Safe Connections Women’s Shelter. Recently, the club worked with the Cinderella Project where St. Joe collected dresses for girls who cannot afford them. On top of that, from January 19-25, HERstory held a hygiene drive at St. Joe in order to collect paper towels, toilet paper, and African American hair products. Members made cards for those at the women’s shelter, and bins were overflowed with hygiene products donated by students.

Altogether, HERstory is a necessary and empowering club for all members of the St. Joe community. Not only do students apply what they learn to their own lives, but also they can use their knowledge to influence others and to make an impact in the world today. HERstory helps women not conform to stereotypes in society, but instead they grow to gain confidence within themselves and within the future of women.