Her Story
About Franchesca
I'm in my final semester at the University of Southern California, where I'm completing a unique joint degree program - earning both my master's in public administration and my undergraduate degree in public policy and law at the same time. My passion for empowering women has been the driving force in everything I do. After spending a semester in Washington, D.C., my friend Michelle Schwen and I co-founded Girls Who Lead at USC because we realized we were missing that environment of female leadership on our campus. We started it last semester, and it's now a registered organization with an executive board of 8 women and about 200 general members. We host weekly meetings where we bring together mostly freshmen and sophomore girls to talk about current events and give them tools to be leaders in whatever they're doing. We've had incredible speakers, including Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager of LA and a former chief of staff for the communications department in the Biden White House. Our organization is part of the nonprofit Her Rising, which was started by girls in college who wanted to create a network of females in their different spaces. On campus, I also work at the Center of Philanthropy and Public Policy with a team of all women who set up huge philanthropy events and discussion boards that bring together philanthropic leaders to collaborate on forwarding policy through philanthropy. Because USC is in a very underprivileged area, I volunteer twice a week at an elementary school, working with third graders and offering support that they don't have the resources for at the school. I'm also in a sorority where I serve on the philanthropy board, and we fully fund the Blind Children's Center of LA. I was on the women's rowing team at USC for my first two years, and when I stopped rowing, I took all that time to make as much of an impact as possible in my community. I interned at Emily's List, the largest resource for women in politics in the nation, where I was named cohort lead and served as the liaison between 14 undergraduate interns and the staff. That internship taught me so much about giving women the tools to feel empowered to do whatever they want in whatever field they're part of. My immediate goal is to secure an entry-level position in D.C., like coordinator of campaigns at Emily's List or coordinator of events and communications at the USC DC Capital Campus, so I can network and get in rooms where I can meet people who can help me in the future. Then I'm hoping to study for the LSAT and apply to law school, because my dream since I was a little girl has always been to become a civil rights attorney who helps women in the workplace who feel they've been discriminated against.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Franchesca
01What do you attribute your success to?
I would say my well-roundedness and my ability to be fully involved and fully invested in everything I do. My whole life, I've been able to be involved in multiple things at once and give each one my full attention. It's just where I find meaning and where I find fulfillment. I've always been a really busy person - I was on the women's rowing team at USC for my first two years, and when I stopped rowing, I was like, okay, how can I take all this time to make as much of an impact as possible in my community and with the people I have relationships with. Being busy and making an impact is the driving force in my life. That's what makes me feel like a fulfilled person. I also try to be someone who leads by doing it. I don't want to be someone who just tells people what to do. I always try to be someone who shows up and does the work and shows other people, look, it's fun to show up and care and do the work, and then it usually is pretty successful, and people buy in a bit more.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best advice I've received came from my mentor Chloe Liu, who is the Director of Campaigns at Emily's List. She really helped me know that I can show up places and be my authentic self, and I don't need to put on a front to get to the places that I want to get to. That lesson about authenticity has been so important to me - knowing that I can be genuine and still achieve my goals without pretending to be someone I'm not.
03What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
The most important thing to me is empowering women - that's probably the number one thing I'm passionate about. I always knew from a young age that I wanted to be in a field that is going to help empower women. My biggest passion about myself is I want other girls to have the confidence and feel empowered to do whatever they want, because I know how important that is right now, especially in the current administration and everything going on. I just want to make sure that every girl I come into contact with knows that she is empowered to do whatever she wants to set her mind to doing. I also value authenticity and showing up as my genuine self in everything I do. I believe in leading by example rather than just telling people what to do - I want to show people that it's fun to show up and care and do the work.
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