At the age of 17, most teenagers are applying to colleges, receiving their driver’s licenses and doing their best to get through their final years of high school. Anja Herrman, however, is being honored at the White House.
International Day of the Girl, celebrated on Oct. 11, is an international observance day declared by the United Nations in 2012 to recognize young girls and their impact on the world. This year, in honor of the Day of Girl, First Lady Jill Biden held the first “Girls Leading Change” celebration at the White House in recognition of girls around the nation sparking change. Fifteen young women were selected to be honored by the White House Gender Policy Council. Amongst them was Anja Herrman, a senior at Oak Park and River Forest High School. The event was attended by the director of the White House Gender Policy Council Jennifer Klein, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and First Lady Biden.
“The girls on this stage are using their voices to change their communities and shine a light on issues that are often overlooked,” said Biden. “They’re protecting and preserving our earth, writing and sharing stories that change minds, using their summer breaks to testify before their state legislature and turning their pain into purpose.”
Herrman is a disability rights activist dedicated to inclusion. Her works include advocating for personal protective equipment for people with disabilities during the pandemic, which she did as a member of the Personal Protective Equipment for People with Disabilities Coalition, and becoming the youngest appointed member of the Village of River Forest’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Advisory Group.
Additionally, Herrman composed a white paper on school shooting plans regarding students with disabilities, which she presented to members of Congress in July of 2022.
“As someone whose work focuses around disability advocacy, I’d love for OPRF to improve the accessibility of the building so that future Huskies have an easier time navigating the building,” Herrman said. “I know that accessibility can look like a lot of different things to a lot of different people, but I hope that the work that led me to get this award shows the urgency of the task and that OPRF starts prioritizing updating its accessibility.”
Herrman was nominated for the award by OPRF history teacher Lisa Faulkner, who joined Herrman at the White House for the ceremony. Faulkner chose Herrman for her activism and the contributions she’s made to the Oak Park and River Forest communities.
“Anja is not just a young person who will make extraordinary change in the future, she is creating change now,” Faulkner said. “She is emerging as a national disability rights leader through her research, volunteering, speaking engagements and publications–all while balancing a challenging high school schedule. She is actively shaping the world to be equitable and inclusive for all.”
Karin Sullivan, the executive director of communications at OPRF, added, “As a young person who uses a wheelchair, Anja has found a platform to advocate not just for herself but for other persons with disabilities….she’s becoming a national leader through her research, speaking engagements and publications. Anja is showing that individual actions can have a huge impact.”
Sullivan hopes that Herrman’s advocacy will set an example to future Huskie activists. “The school motto, ‘Those Things That Are Best,’ means always striving to make things better than they are, and Anja is certainly doing that through her work to improve the lives of persons with disabilities,” she said. “Having one of our students recognized on such a visible national stage is truly an honor for OPRF as a whole; we have so many students doing meaningful advocacy work of their own, and hopefully this brings more attention to their efforts as well. I hope that other Huskies are inspired by Anja’s actions and find ways to advocate for change in ways that are meaningful to them.”
While her trip to the White House was a remarkable experience, Herrman is staying focused on her mission towards disability inclusion. Amid her success, Herrman continues to promote her cause. “Even when it’s hard, I know that my advocacy doesn’t exist in a vacuum, and so all the work I do is to make it easier for the next kid coming up,” she said. “I’d really like to accomplish that goal and I’m grateful that the work I’m doing and the work I continue to do makes that happen.”
