Heading to Hogwarts: Meet the She’s the First Scholars from #WithoutHermione!

Harry Potter fans know that Hermione Granger wasn’t just Harry Potter’s best friend. Over the course of seven books, Hermione transformed from nerdy know-it-all to a kind-hearted heroine and a true leader of the magical world’s resistance movement. Whether she was using the library to save the day (again) or organizing fellow students to form Dumbledore’s Army, Hermione’s actions changed the wizarding world. She, along with other heroines like Luna, Ginny, Molly, Lily and more used what they learned at Hogwarts and changed the world for the better.

Our world needs real life heroines like Hermione, but all over the globe, girls and women are being kept out of classrooms and losing the chance to lead. That’s why in Fall 2017, Harry Potter fans (meaning, you know, Hermione Granger fans) came together to fund scholarships for real life Hermiones, Ginnys, and Lunas, who are helping change the world.

So who are the She’s the First Scholars? Let’s meet them!

In a grid, eight photos of girls surround a blue square. The girls are She’s the First Scholars. In the center square, white text says “Have fun at the real-life version of Hogwarts, STF Scholars! Love, the Harry Potter Alliance.”

Meet Rose

A girl named Rose smiles at the camera. She is in front of an empty classroom and she is wearing a red checkered shirt with a school logo on it.

STF Scholar Rose attends Arlington Academy of Hope in Uganda! Rose lives with her parents and four sisters. At home, she is in charge of fetching the water and helping clean around the house. Rose loves singing, dancing, and drawing and playing netball with her classmates. She enjoys all the classes she studies in school, and when she grows up she hopes to become a doctor.

Meet Christine

A girl named Christine smiles at the camera. She is in front of an undersea-themed mural and she is wearing a red checkered shirt with a school logo on it.

STF Scholar Christine also attends Arlington Academy of Hope in Uganda! Christine lives with her parents and two siblings, and helps around thehouse by fetching water and keeping things clean. She loves reading, math, and science. When she grows up, she wants to teach literacy at a university level.

Meet Anjana

A girl named Anajana looks at the camera. She is in front of an busy classroom with students and a teacher. She is wearing a green checkered shirt.

STF Scholar Anjana attends the BlinkNow school in Nepal! She loves her grandmother and two sisters very deeply. Her favorite subject to study is math and she dreams of becoming a singer when she grows up. In her spare time, Anjana enjoys playing with her dolls. Each year, Anjana and her peers participate in a 5k race for equality held by our Nepali partner BlinkNow. At school, Anjana and her peers are sorted into “houses” (like Hogwarts!), named Sky, Moon, Sun, and Stars. She enjoys cheering for her house’s team during school competitions.

Meet Laxmi

A girl named Laxmi smiles at the camera. She is in front of a classroom of students sitting at their desks and she is wearing a yellow collared shirt with a school logo on it.

STF Scholar Laxmi also attends the BlinkNow school in Nepal! She lives with her aunt and brother. She loves soccer, the color red, and cats. At school she likes studying math. Each year, Sabina and her peers participate in a 5k race for equality held by our Nepali partner BlinkNow. At school, Sabina and her peers are sorted into “houses” (like Hogwarts!), named Sky, Moon, Sun, and Stars. She enjoys cheering for her house’s team during school competitions. She hopes to be a dancer one day.

Meet Kamala

A girl named Kamala smiles at the camera. She is in front of a classroom of students sitting at their desks and she is wearing a yellow collared shirt with a school logo on it.

STF Scholar Kamala also attends the BlinkNow school in Nepal! She lives with her parents, grandmother, and siblings. She loves math and reading. Her favorite color is yellow. She wants to become a teacher one day. Each year, Kamala and her peers participate in a 5k race for equality held by our Nepali partner BlinkNow. At school, Kamala and her peers are sorted into “houses” (like Hogwarts!), named Sky, Moon, Sun, and Stars. She enjoys cheering for her house’s team during school competitions.

Meet Meheret

A girl named Meheret smiles at the camera. She is outside in front of a tree, yellow grass, and two buildings. She is wearing a striped grey, red, black, and white shirt and a cross necklace.

STF Scholar Meheret attends the Selamta Family Project in Ethiopia! She arrived at Selamta with her two siblings! Her mother has received assistance via job training to allow her the opportunity to raise her children. Meheret is thriving with her family and continuing her education.

Meet Alisa

STF Scholar Alisa also attends the BlinkNow school in Nepal! She lives with her four sisters, three brothers, and mother who supports the family by cooking at a local shop. Her favorite courses are English and Nepali, and her teachers know her as someone who is always ready at the school gate to greet her classmates. In her spare time, Alisa loves to sing and play with her dolls.

Meet Swastika

STF Scholar Swastika also attends the BlinkNow school in Nepal! She lives with her mom, dad, and older brother. Swastika wakes up at 6 a.m. to study and the library is her favorite thing about school. She loves rabbits, volleyball, and the color purple. Her hobbies are playing games, watching TV, and reading. Swastika’s favorite subject is English, and she wants to be a teacher when she grows up.

Why eight STF Scholars?

Um, because there are eight(ish) Harry Potter books and movies, right?? Actually, it’s more complicated than that (but we *do* like that idea). Our original plan was to provide scholarships to as many She’s the First Scholars as possible at the Academic Ally level, which provides a year of basic tuition. However, we were given the opportunity to give via multi-year funding for several Scholars at the Girl Champion Level — which would be a longer (and likely better!) investment. And while this diverges from our original stated intent, we feel it’s important when donating funds to take into consideration the expertise of the receiving organization and to maximize our long-term impact. Thus, we have followed She’s the First’s recommendation and will be providing full scholarships to three She’s the First Scholars for three full years of school! With the remainder of the funds, we’ll also be able to provide Academic Ally-level scholarships for five additional Scholars. Thank you to every Potter fan who donated!

Finally, a note to our new friends, the STF Scholars:

Dear Rose, Christine, Anjana, Laxmi, Kamala, Meheret, Alisa, and Swastika,

It’s wonderful to meet you. We know that many of you are Harry Potter fans like us. Even if you’re not fans yet, you have all the qualities that the Harry Potter series taught us are important — you’re brave and hard working, smart and ambitious, kind and ready to make a difference! We hope that your school is a lot like Hogwarts — magical, friendly, and full of adventure. That said, we also hope it’s not too much like Hogwarts — avoid any basilisks or giant snakes you hear about, don’t eat too many of Hagrid’s rock cakes, and most of all, if you have any teachers like Umbridge, make sure you lean on your friends and mentors for support! May your adventures at school bring you the knowledge and confidence you need to achieve your dreams. We can’t wait to hear about your adventures!

Love, your fellow fans & everyone at the Harry Potter Alliance

Our magical partnership with She’s the First started during A World #WithoutHermione, our campaign fighting for gender equity in education. To learn more about the HPA and all of our campaigns, visit thehpalliance.org.