Ms. Lara has been actively supporting gender equality since she was in college. When she was presented with the opportunity to advise Advocats, a gender-equality club at LHS, she realized she could use her passion to lead the club, so she accepted the role.
Ms. Lara
December 5, 2017
Ms. Andrea Lara, who currently teaches AP and Honors U.S. History, is the advisor of Advocats, a club focused on gender equality. Ms. Lara became involved with Advocats during its inception just four years ago.
Julia Thurau, an LHS alumna, created a pitch for a club focused on gender equality and presented it to Mrs. Jennifer Uliks during her sophomore year of high school. Ms. Lara was able to see the pitch, which was “so well thought out and something [she] already believe[s] in and incorporate[s] into [her] daily life and curriculum,” so she signed on as advisor and has been with the club since.
Prior to her involvement with Advocats, Ms. Lara was passionate about the subject of gender equality.
“I grew up thinking, ‘Of course the genders are equal, why would they not be?’ As I grew older and realized that this wasn’t the case, I felt passionate about it. As a woman I am passionate about it. As a mother of a daughter, I am passionate about it, and as the mother of a son too. It seems to be a no-brainer to me,” Ms. Lara said.
As a group, Advocats works to educate and empower boys and girls alike. In addition to meetings, club members see movies together, volunteer and plan other activities as well. As Ms. Lara said, “It is a nice mix of education, empowerment and giving back to the community through service.”
In addition to her work with Advocats, Ms. Lara lives a life promoting gender equality, as it is something very important to her.
“I think people should care about all sorts of equality. If we purposely keep one group or another oppressed on purpose, then I am wondering if we truly are a democracy. It’s a matter of all equality, not just gender,” she said.