Girls and Money
Alumna says young women are intimidated by economics, but understanding it is key to their future
It’s 9:30 a.m. on an overcast summer morning at Cal State East Bay, and approximately 100 soon-to-be eighth- and ninth-grade girls are gathered for roll call outside the College of Science. They’re members of Girls Inc. of Alameda County, the largest affiliate of a national nonprofit dedicated to empowering young women to go to college, and each year, they descend on the university’s Hayward campus to get a taste of higher education.
On this day, brisk coastal winds stir the girls in their small clusters, compelling them to crowd closer together as they wait for morning announcements. This finally happens, the 13-year-olds moan, at 9:34 a.m. when Shayna Whitley (MA ’16, Economics) strides into the center of their gathering spot and the group immediately quiets.