Lake Braddock Graduate Wins 18 Under 18 Award Through Advocacy

SPRINGFIELD, VA — A 2021 Lake Braddock Secondary School graduate is being recognized for her advocacy for menstrual equity. Hannah Lee, a Springfield resident who will attend Cornell University in the fall, is one of the National Society of High School Scholars' 18 Under 18 award winners.

This scholarship recognizes students under age 18 who show a passion for contributing to their society, demonstrate leadership in their communities, and plan to pursue their passion moving forward in college. NSHSS is a membership-based organization that connects students with scholarships, college fairs, internships, career and leadership opportunities and more.

Lee, 17, found her success in advocacy by helping start a grassroots organization called Mission Red with her friends in support of menstrual equity. What menstrual equity advocacy means is fighting for equal access to hygiene products as well as education involving reproductive health. The movement also recognizes how gender justice and racial justice factor into period poverty, the term associated with inadequate access to hygiene products.

"I kind of wanted to make sure I was tackling the needs in my own community," Lee told Patch about the inspiration behind starting Mission Red.

The group covers different aspects of advocacy, with different members serving as leads for service, policy, finance, project, organization and outreach. Lee is the service lead, focusing on organizing events to serve the community. A key success has been hosting donation drives to provide over 100,000 hygiene products to DC shelters.

One of Mission Red's objectives is advocating for legislation expanding access to free period products. In Virginia, legislation putting period products in public school bathrooms at no cost to students became law in 2020. The group is now pushing for DC Council to pass a bill putting period products in public school and public charter school bathrooms at no cost to students.

"Policies are the biggest and most instrumental change we can do long term," said Lee.

Even before the Virginia legislation was implemented, Lee got to see change at her own school system. Fairfax County Public Schools started a pilot program in 2019 to fill dispensers with hygiene products at select schools. With the state legislation taking effect, Lee started to see dispensers at her school in winter and hopes students will get to use them this fall.

One of Lee's favorite moments at Mission Red was a 2019 rally on Capitol Hill. The students worked together to coordinate speakers, speeches and co-hosts. For her, overcoming concerns about young people advocating for change was difficult, since the students aren't professional lobbyists.

"It was really interesting that we can be taken seriously even with our age," said Lee.

Despite derogatory comments from some classmates about her menstrual advocacy efforts, she received a lot of support from friends. Today, she feels more open and confident in her opinions than she was two years ago.

Lee plans to take her activism into college and ultimately her career. At Cornell, she will major in global health and follow the pre-med track to pursue a career as an OBGYN. She aims to bring her social justice passion into that career as well.

On the advocacy side, younger friends will continue running Mission Red while Lee plans to join the Cornell chapter of the organization Period. She is also expanding her advocacy to new places. She is working with the Hopes and Dreams Initiative, which empowers women, girls and their communities, to promote menstrual equity in Nigeria. She notes that the U.S. as a whole is a lot more progressed in menstrual equity than certain countries.

"I really did want to spread my cause and my work internationally," she said.

Lee is involved with the National Society of High School Scholars as an ambassador. As an 18 Under 18 Award winner, she is one of 18 students selected for a $1,000 scholarship. She was chosen for her video submission on menstrual injustice and period poverty.

"It's really such an honor," said Lee about her accomplishment. "It shows other young people you can make change. If you're young and passionate, you can do what you want to do."