Women Inspire and Find Hope at Sixth Annual “Rise To” Summit

On March 22, the sixth annual “Rise To” Summit was held in the library at Rock Ridge High School. Organized by Women and Gender Studies teacher Jessica Berg, the event brought students, mothers, female activists, and politicians together to discuss the challenges women face today.

Bella Gerardi

Recognizing the theme of ‘hope’, Keynote speaker and women’s rights activist Katherine Spillar held a speech about legislative milestones and the importance of community engagement. “We can’t put our heads under the pillow and say we’re going to wait it out because without the pushback, without us fighting, we can’t hold the line,” Spillar said. “We have to be organized and strong so when an opportunity becomes available to make forward movement, we’re there to seize it. Begin the fight now, wherever you are.”

Rachel Bhardwaj, Mariia Pecherkina, and Melissa Waas • March 29, 2025

On March 22, women of various generations gathered in the library at Rock Ridge High School for the sixth annual “Rise To” Women’s Summit to advocate for women’s rights. Women and Gender Studies teacher Jessica Berg organized the event with a focus on finding hope in this politically fraught time.

After a keynote address by activist Katherine Spillar, scholars and politicians shared their stories and collective desire to achieve gender equality during two panel discussions. Berg hopes the summit encourages young women to find courage and use their voice to advocate for women’s rights now and in the future.

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About the Contributors

Rachel Bhardwaj, Multimedia Editor

Rachel Bhardwaj is a junior and a third-year staff member. She currently serves as the co-multimedia editor of The Blaze. She enjoys sketching, drawing, and exploring DIY projects. As co-multimedia editor, she is excited to capture broad reactions through her videos and hopes to create more in the future. She has also lived in India for most of her life. Rachel is passionate about helping people and raising voices that often go unheard. Her favorite thing about The Blaze is interacting with people, and she enjoys the welcoming environment.

Mariia Pecherkina, Multimedia Editor

Mariia Pecherkina is a junior this year and is the multimedia editor at The Blaze. Her second year on staff, Mariia enjoys editing videos, gathering interviews, and the entire multimedia aspect of journalism. Being able to represent overlooked perspectives and bringing them to the forefront of discussion is Mariia’s favorite part of journalism. She believes that multimedia is a good medium to conduct this through, due to how it sparks emotional investment within viewers. Outside of The Blaze, Mariia holds a leadership position in the International Club, which she enjoys due to how it unifies the different parts of the school’s community, and is interested in Russian politics. Mariia also enjoys Russian music, playing the piano, and spending time with her two cats and is also a Metro fiend. Her goal in The Blaze this year is to teach people the importance of multimedia journalism and to spread more awareness about The Blaze in the school community.

Melissa Waas, Managing Editor

Melissa Waas, a senior, has been a part of the newspaper staff for three years, and is one of the Managing Editors for the Blaze. She enjoys participating more in the media and video aspect of the Blaze. Even outside of the paper she loves making videos and has favored art and making things visually. Her goals as a journalist this year are to continue contributing to the multimedia department of the Blaze and recruit more students to join. Melissa heavily encourages people to get out of their comfort zone, and try something new in the Blaze, like the multimedia aspects. She really enjoys writing about social issues in our world and finds they can be more challenging than we realize since the facts are not always obvious. She participates in many school extracurriculars: Peer, Wings, and NEHS. Melissa moved from France to the United States in 2020. Her family was looking for an adventure, and chose the U.S. to explore new horizons. She is an extremely creative person, who is always looking for something new to learn.

Bella Gerardi, Photo Editor

Senior Bella Gerardi has been a member of the Blaze for four years and this year she has the role of the Photo Editor. Bella has had a history with writing since a young age. Her grandmothers were both authors, and it led her down the journalism path. While she started off writing opinion pieces her first few years, she slowly started to love taking pictures and realized she was very good at it. Over the last year she grew her position to the highest role in photo editing with all the pictures getting sent to her for approval. This year, she wants to hopefully find someone to pass her role as Photo Editor down to. When she’s not working at Kung Fu Tea, she loves to read, especially horror and romance, go to the gym and listen to music. After college she wishes to pursue a career in social work, particularly CPS. As for her love for journalism, she wants to pursue a career as a journalist on the side and hopefully build it up to a good job and decent pay. She hopes to combine her love for social work and journalism in the future.

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Women Inspire and Find Hope at Sixth Annual “Rise To” Summit

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