How I Use My Voice in Sport by Kaylee

How I Use My Voice in Sport by Kaylee - January 2024 Scholarship Essay

If I’d been asked three years ago what percentage of sports sponsorship money went to female athletes, I would’ve immediately guessed half. However, now I know the truth: a mere 1%. Through my own experiences and news articles, I’ve become aware of such severe discrepancies between the treatment of male and female athletes.
For years, I’ve experienced gender discrimination, with my school’s women’s soccer program receiving significantly less funding than the men’s. My team has watched our male counterparts get brand-new uniforms as we dig old football jerseys out of the closet year after year.
To address issues such as this and provide a support system for female athletes at my school, I co-founded a club called Voice in Sport, the first club fully dedicated to female athletes at Sunset High School. While we started with ten members, our club now has over 50 and works to promote the rights of female athletes, ensuring that our school complies with all regulations by performing evaluations and having conversations with district and school officials on steps toward improvement. I am currently in the process of organizing a school-wide Title IX training that will allow us to educate our entire student body on how they can contribute to equality in our athletic programs. Over the past few years, we’ve united hundreds of female athletes of varying ages and sports to advocate for gender equality in sports and provided them with resources for success.
Within my local community, I serve as one of the club mentors for young girls in order to foster vibrant communities of passionate athletes, working with organizations such as Girls on the Run to volunteer at their events. Meeting with athletes with different backgrounds and experiences with discrimination has deepened my understanding of inequality’s impacts. Having studied discrimination at the community level, I’m further motivated to strive for more inclusivity. I’ve also organized a sports equipment drive and a fundraiser that raised over $1,000 worth of donations for underprivileged athletes in the Portland area.
Through these efforts, I’ve learned important teamwork and leadership skills. I’ve also become a more community-minded person, as I’m constantly on the lookout for new volunteer opportunities to benefit people in need. As our club members play sports together while performing community service through VIS, the female athlete community at Sunset High School has grown stronger, and we’ve created a safe and encouraging environment for them. Using my leadership skills and commitment to activism, I hope to continue my advocacy in the future.