Empowering the World, One Woman at a Time
On Dec. 7, in University Hall, the sisters of Alpha Iota Chi of Montclair State University hosted a discussion on female empowerment featuring scenes from the 2014 documentary, She’s Beautiful When She’s Angry. The film, about the diverse females who led the women’s’ movement in the 1960, was very fitting to the sisters of AIX. Their philanthropy strives to spread awareness about what it means to be a woman and the struggles that come along with it. One sister in particular, sophomore Melony Mercedes, makes further attempts to strengthen the female mind and body.
The 20 year-old pizza enthusiast, known as “Mel” by her friends, comes from the small town of Harrison, N.J, located less than a half hour south of the university. Working on a dance education major and an English minor, she has already gotten to perform on the university’s stage twice.
A distinguishing fact about her however, remains the summer 2016 launch of her website Reign, targeted for women, by women to increase their strength, confidence, and empowerment.
Despite dancing since the age of seven, Mercedes cites herself as the underdog of the dance program and finds herself working twice as hard to get to the “standard level”. With a support system of family along with her high school dance and theatre teachers, Leo DaSilva and Yahaira “YaYa” Torres, she finds the motivation to overcome the struggles she encounters in the program.
“Every time I feel like quitting, I remember how much hard work they’ve put into my growth as a dancer and I keep going.” Mercedes said. “I’m the first dance major in my town, so I have a lot to carry on my back.”
Her admittance into the program, however, almost didn’t happen. Originally intending to be a business major with a concentration in management at MSU, it was a traumatic life event that changed her mind.
“After a death of my cousin, who was like an older brother to me, I came to the realization that life is too short to not do what you love everyday.” said Mercedes. In a “last minute decision”, as she puts it, she applied and became accepted on a full academic scholarship to begin her career as a Red Hawk.
This feat did not come as a surprise to those close to her. Valery Vertiz, a long time friend, noticed how determined she became to get into the university’s dance program.
“That’s who she is. She puts her mind and soul into it and there’s nothing and no one that can stop her.” said Vertiz.
Kimberly Salas, who recalls Mercedes as being the first friend she made when Salas moved into town in the sixth grade, praises her on her multitasking and compassionate abilities.
“I’ve had the pleasure of growing up with her and one thing has never changed.” Salas said. “Melony’s been raised with the mindset of putting family first and that is what she does.”
This made her arrival to Montclair State a determined one. Wanting to stay as involved in clubs and activities as she indulged in during high school led to Mercedes’s interest in Greek Life. To end up choosing an organization that shared her interests matched perfectly.
Angelisa Hinton, her roommate and fellow sorority sister, believes that Mercedes is a excellent addition to AIX.
“Our philanthropy is women’s empowerment, and having someone who’s so passionate about the subject and knows so much helps our organization immensely.”
According to Hinton, Mercedes has also never shied away from being a more active participant.
“She’s an E-board member and stays on top of everything, even with the billion things she must get done in a day.” Hinton said. “Sisterhood is not something that she takes for granted and takes those bonds very seriously.”
Still, Mercedes felt that she could do something more, not only for herself but for other girls and women as well.
“I felt like as a woman, it is my job to empower others.” Mercedes spoke in regards to the origin of the website.
“Being a female today is a lot harder than you can imagine. It [Reign] is a constant reminder that they are not alone in their journey.”
It also, admits Mercedes, became personal.
“Part of me knows I created Reign for myself. I battled depression in high school. I am still fighting my battle with anxiety and my eating disorder today so Reign was something for me to create to share my story.” She adds, “There is something so liberating about telling the world your problems.”
Writers for the site consist of her friends as she wanted to “gather a diverse group of women to write about their experiences”.
“I wanted the writers to have a real voice that sounded like you were just meeting up with your girls and talking about life.” she adds.
With the website, Mercedes hopes to create a sense of home and unity for young girls who don’t feel like they have that in their lives.
“Knowing that someone else out there is going through depression, or battling an eating disorder, or can’t seem to find their place in the world is reassuring.” she said.
Neither Salas nor Hinton write for the website, although they agree with its necessity and ability to impact.
“I think that there aren’t a lot of websites like Melony’s out there and it provides a lot of insight and support to a broad population of women out there.” said Hinton.
Salas agrees.
“Young women need a blog like this to be given the confidence and strive to do better in life, and to achieve their goals.”
