Building confidence in girls at a young age

Medical student Priya Uppal uses Good Skin Knowledge to introduce STEM to young girls in her community.

Priya’s story

We completed four sessions with a local free after-school program. The girls would excitedly raise their hands to share their answers. We were routinely impressed by this confidence and willingness to share. Each session, we could feel the girls' excitement — especially when we got to the hands-on parts, which they loved.

We found the discussions on melanin and acne to be significant for building current and future self-esteem for our group. Our girls are all Black, and we wanted to make sure the girls understood that they are beautiful no matter if they have a little or a lot of melanin. We also normalized acne by talking about our own experiences and discussing how many young people will get acne as they get older.

Outside of the dermatology knowledge acquired, the girls practiced other essential skills including communication, teamwork, and collaboration. We saw the girls assisting each other with their models and bracelets and even answering each other's questions. We were so glad to put these GSK resources to good use in our community.