Each year, the Academy’s girls come together in the large dance studio to share serious and funny stories meant to showcase the strength of Deerfield’s female community.

This year’s Girls’ Meeting was held on Sunday, October 20. The event was organized by girl leaders on the Student Planning Committee and StuCo, including Svetlana Deshpande ’25, Julia Tamul ’25, Ellie Schiller ’25, and Campbell Krotee ’25.

Female faculty members started the meeting by sharing personal narratives— many offered tales from their high school days. Afterward, the faculty members left the meeting, offering the space to the students. The four student planners shared their stories, then the floor was opened to anyone who wished to share a story.

Associate Head of School for Student Life Amie Creagh, one of the faculty members at the meeting, shared an inspiring perspective on how girls’ roles on campus, and ideas of their place on campus had changed over her time at Deerfield.

Ms. Creagh emphasized in an interview that during her time at Deerfield, “the motivation, the goal of the meeting has been the same …to bring girls together with a shared experience of supporting one another.” While this goal has remained constant, the main change of Girls’ Meeting over the years has been its organization.

Originally, it was adult-led with student support, but now it is student-led, with students reaching out to adults to share at the meet- ing and support the organization.

Ms. Creagh pointed to two main shifts in the conversations during Girls’ Meeting over the years. Ms. Creagh said, “15 years ago they [the adult organizers of Girls’ Meeting] were trying to address girl culture concerns.” However, Ms. Creagh said that their concerns are no longer as pressing, and there is much more “sisterhood and camaraderie of girls coming together on campus,” she said, allowing for the meeting to focus much more on these important connections and stories. The second main shift was that previously “it was contextualized relative to boys.”

For Ms. Creagh, this “was disheartening, discouraging…it was just grounded in boys and that seemed counterintuitive,” she added. This approach towards the purpose of the meeting as well “has changed radically over the last 10-15 years.” As she attends more Girls’ Meetings, she increasingly relishes this time for girls to create stronger bonds with one another and learn new things in such a supportive environment, and concluded by saying that “each year, I’m more encouraged by what that space provides for girls,” Creagh said.

Once the four student leaders shared their stories, and created an inclusive environment where everyone felt welcome to share, various students stood up and came to the middle of the dance studio under loud cheering and applause to share a short anecdote that they believed exemplified girlhood at Deerfield. Some stories were shared for the purpose of making everyone laugh, while others were more serious, and about overcoming a significant challenge.

During the more lighthearted ones, audible laughter never ceased, while during much more emotional ones, everyone listened respectfully. Despite this variation, all of the stories left audience members with a stronger sense of community and more hope for what the community offers them.