Imagine you could help solve one of the biggest problems facing the world today, and it could be solved simply by utilizing the determination and responsibility of a woman. That is exactly what Professor Muhammad Yunus, the globally recognized 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner, did.

Last month, I spent a beautiful and chilly afternoon at George Washington University (GWU) as a speaker on the panel, "Violence against Girls: From Child Marriage to Dating Violence."
 

I learned two lessons from my second Girl Up event. People are easily inspired by the Girl Up mission, but first they need information about the campaign, inspiration to tell others about it, and most importantly see the passion that lies within to help girls around the world!

In this March blog series about phenomenal women, we have seen great examples of game-changers – women who have made positive changes in our world. We admire these women because they encourage us that girls do, in fact, run the world. And they run it well.

Imagine that after a bloody and violent war that spanned more than 20 years, a powerful leader rose up to deliver the country from its impoverished and fragile state. This leader, a native of the country, pledged to make it better for all citizens. Now stop for a second.

I am a proud ‘90s kid. My youth was not consumed with computer games and my interactions with others did not occur over Facebook or Twitter. Although I’m 18 years old (still young in the scope of things) social media is even younger.

It was about 8:15 in the morning and New York City and its residents seemed to adjust groggily to the fact a new day had begun. Coffee in hand, I walked past a structure that stands so proudly over New York’s East River.