At age 17, Saumya Mangalick is already a strong advocate for human rights. This Edina High School senior was awarded the Edina Human Rights & Relations Commission Tom Oye award for her work with the organization Girl Up Edina. She is the youngest recipient of this award.
Girl Up is a campaign of the United Nations Foundation, and Saumya is the founder and president of the Edina chapter. The focus of Girl Up Edina is to help provide girls in developing countries with education, health, social and economic opportunities and safety. “It really allows girls, no matter where they are in the world, to take action,” Saumya says. This action comes through education, advocacy, leadership, service and fundraising. Girl Up Edina has raised just under $4,000.
The chair of the Edina Human Rights and Relations Commission, Jim Nelson, is inspired by Saumya’s achievements at such a young age. “She has so much potential to do so much good,” Nelson says. We’re excited to see what Saumya does next.
