THIS GIRL HAS GOALS
FEATURES
Junior thrives in Girls Leadership Committee and on the soccer field JOSEPHINE PHILLIPS OPINIONS EDITOR | ISABELLA DIPATRI MANAGING EDITOR
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unior Susan Shobeiri grins from ear to ear as she counts the total number of feminine hygiene products from McLean’s Girls Leadership Committee’s (GLC) collection drive: a grand total of 32,626 tampons, panty liners and pads. The GLC is a club that focuses on teaching young women important skills for future careers and preparing them for positions of power. Shobeiri is proud to be one of the student co-leaders of the group. She has been a member of the GLC since her freshman year and has held leadership positions since her sophomore year. OUR MAIN FOCUS IS TO EMPOWER AND INSPIRE GIRLS IN OUR COMMUNITIES, SPECIFICALLY AT MCLEAN, TO GO AFTER THEIR GOALS.” - SUSAN SHOBEIRI JUNIOR “Our main focus is to empower and inspire girls in our communities, specifically at McLean, to go after their goals and do what they want, given the current social climate,” Shobeiri said. Being involved with the GLC has affected Shobeiri’s life in several ways. “It has given me a lot of opportunities to connect with people who have similar goals to me, and it has allowed me to do things within my community that I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to do,” Shobeiri said. According to Shobeiri, the skills she has learned during her time in the club can easily translate into future careers. She urges all girls to apply themselves in any way possible, especially if they fear failure. “I think the kind of formal and professional atmosphere of writing emails and making calls is going to be the biggest way that I use these leadership skills in my future,” Shobeiri said. 6 | FEATURES | JUNE 2021
In addition to leading the GLC, Shobeiri stands out on the soccer field. She verbally committed to Boston University as a goalkeeper for women’s soccer in October 2020, and she will officially commit this coming fall. “We are so excited for her,” Eileen West, Shobeiri’s mother, said. “Boston is a fabulous university for students, and the school offers tremendous academic opportunities. They have a wonderful well-established Division I women’s soccer program with one of the top college coaches in the country.” Shobeiri’s co-leader on the GLC, senior Rohini Kumaran, shares this excitement for Shobeiri. “I know how much time and effort she puts into playing soccer and the commitment it takes to be good enough to commit to a school for a sport while still being active with clubs and school,” Kumaran said. Kumaran believes Shobeiri has been a successful club leader because of her empathic personality. “This position is more than just having a title—it’s about being a person in the community that helps others and can be a positive role model for others,” Kumaran said. Shobeiri and Kumaran led the GLC throughout the pandemic, and Shobeiri feels she learned important lessons over this time period. “I’ve learned to just go for things, because even if you don’t get the position you were hoping to get, you may be opening up doors that you weren’t really anticipating,” Shobeiri said. Shobeiri has simultaneously found success on the soccer field and in school. “I’m so proud to see her juggle her commitments so effectively,” West said. “She has really come into her own as a person, friend, scholar, team player and leader. She is a delightful young woman.” Shobeiri’s ability to excel in so many different areas of her life has shown her that the possibilities are infinite, and that’s a message she hopes to share with members of the GLC.
“Being in Girls Leadership is really about showing that girls really aren’t limited in any way,” Shobeiri said. “We can do anything we set our minds to.”
DONATION CELEBRATION — Susan Shobeiri holds up bags filled with feminine product donations from the Girls Leadership Committee’s feminine product drive in February. The club collected over 30,000 products.
EPIC SAVE — As goalkeeper of the Metro United soccer team, Susan Shobeiri jumps to block a goal.
Photos courtesy of Susan Shobeiri | Page design by Polina Zubarev
