It takes a special type of person to be able to make an impact in any organization, but especially to be able to make an impact in two. Elizabeth Shen (’27) is one of those people, having made meaningful contributions to both Green Hope’s DECA and The Period Project. Through her role as a board member for both organizations, she has helped organize fundraisers and manage outreach, learning more about both her community and herself.
Shen has been a member of DECA since her freshman year, but is currently serving as the Vice President of Hospitality, where she helps coordinate guest speakers and club events. The organization has over 200 members, making it one of the school’s largest clubs. With that being said, board members must prioritize communication to ensure no one’s voice goes unheard. “It takes a lot, coordinating everything and then also making sure all of the members feel like their opinions are heard,” noted Shen.
Beyond her individual responsibilities as a board member, and the board’s collective focus on communication, Shen has also been assisting the organization in planning a fundraiser. In September, they hosted a volleyball tournament that raised money through concessions and ticket purchases. Green Hope’s DECA partnered with the Green Level branch, with Panther Creek members also coming out to support. “It was a success. People had a lot of fun. It was good team building and fundraising.” The organization is planning on having more fundraisers throughout the year to support their large membership.
Shen’s desire to be a part of DECA came from her interest in business and eagerness to immerse herself into the field. “I’ve always been interested in the business area of things, and I liked that it was a hands-on experience,” stated Chen. Although she’s always been interested in business, it wasn’t until her sophomore year that she realized it was something she wanted to consider as a career. She had the opportunity to attend DECA’s International Career Development Conference (ICDC), where she learned what it means to truly be a leader. “I learned so much and I also made a lot of really good friends and connections with professionals. It kind of showed me this is where I want to be.” It also helped prepare her for being a board member as it taught her things that she could effectively apply to her DECA branch.
Through her experiences on the DECA board, Shen has grown as a leader and future businesswoman. “I’ve definitely learned a lot about event management, planning and also different techniques on how to manage such a huge club of people.” She’s also learned crucial communication and problem-solving skills that she can carry with her after high school.
On top of being a part of DECA, Shen is also a founding member of Green Hope’s Period Project, a club meant to destigmatize menstruation and promote conversation surrounding menstrual health. She serves as the chair of logistics, and has helped with outreach for the club. They are also planning to fundraise to get menstrual products in the school bathrooms. “I think that it’s definitely a really important thing to talk about, and I also think it’s really important that our bathrooms are stocked with those things, because they’re as necessary as toilet paper is,” she explained.
The most important part of the club, in Shen’s mind, is the participation of both guys and girls. “We have a good split between guys and girls in our club, which I think is super cool and also really important, because most girls know what periods are, but it’s mainly the guys who need some help with that.” She recalls one meeting where they bought a period simulator and asked male volunteers to try it out. “Through that experience they were like ‘wow, this is actually really painful, I can’t believe girls are able to go through this.’” That reflection stood out to her and reemphasized the importance of normalizing conversations around menstrual health.
Shen’s role as a founder and board member of the Period Project has taught her a lot about outreach and given her a platform to use those skills — and the ones she’s learned in DECA — to make an impact in her school community. “I’ve learned a lot about outreach in the sense of not being afraid of rejection. Obviously, we don’t really talk about menstrual health, so it can be kind of awkward in the beginning, but it’s a ‘it never hurts to ask’ kind of thing.” To her, it’s been valuable to see how trying to attract club members can impact the organization. “Sure, some people don’t end up showing up to the meetings, but a lot of them do,” she acknowledged. The club has also allowed her to continue to learn more about event management and planning, things participating in DECA have taught her.
Through her roles as Vice President of Hospitality for DECA and Vice President of Logistics for the Period Project, Shen has helped organize fundraisers, coordinate guest speakers and educate her peers about menstrual health. While all of that has undoubtedly impacted her school community, it’s also taught her more about herself. She’s learned that she wants to pursue a future in business, the importance of not being afraid of rejection and a variety of other leadership skills that will follow her into her future. Shen’s ability to balance her responsibilities for DECA and for the Period Project without compromising her impact in either makes her a powerful force of change in her community.
