Advice from girls to girls on, among many things, college

By Chelsea Aiss

As a young girl living in Brant Beach, N.J., Emily Raleigh, GSB ’16, would walk to school in her uniform looking at the older girls in awe. She would turn to her mom and point to each girl and ask, “Is that a smart girl?” Even in her childhood Raleigh found herself entranced with how women perceive themselves in society.

“The more you look and act like a smart girl, the more you are living it,” Raleigh said in an interview.

Before heading off to Fordham, Raleigh decided to create a 100-page survival guide for her younger sister that would provide advice for her upcoming high school and college years. After receiving positive feedback from her family and friends about the book, Raleigh decided that she wanted to take it a step further. Instead of stopping with the guide to help future generations, Raleigh made it her New Year’s resolution in 2012 to start a blog specifically aimed at girls.

After that, the “Smart Girls Group,” a blog and digital magazine for teen girls in search of advice was born.

Raleigh’s main focus with the project has been to find a way to help girls reach their fullest potential. “Celebrities and older women are not specifically who teenage girls want to hear advice from. Having a girl your own age who can understand your lifestyle is more credible,” she said.

Initially, the business was called The “Smart Girls Guide” and included a ten-page booklet. Only nine girls invested in the first issue, but through word of mouth, the community quickly expanded to 140 girls in 34 states and over seven countries. The “Smart Girls Group,” as it has since been named, quickly found a market.

Once the “Smart Girls Group” started to expand, Raleigh realized that she had to find new ways of improving the website. She recently started “college chapters,” which is a segment where girls in college can write about a wide variety of school and social experiences. This provides a helpful way for high school girls to see what life is like in college and connect with girls who could provide private tours, information and a firsthand opinion about their school.

Within the year, Raleigh also has plans to start selling “Smart Girls Group” gear. The “Smart Girls” logo could be implemented on t-shirts, cell phone cases and other paraphernalia. This allows Raleigh to make a profit, but it also allows girls to show their appreciation for the business.a

In the process, Raleigh gets help from girls in college or high school who are interested in participating in the “Smart Girls Group.”

Ava Gagliardi, FCRH ’15, works as the head of photography for the website. She found out about the “Smart Girls Group” through one of her high school friends that was a part of the group and a close friend of Raleigh’s.

Gagliardi makes sure that all the photos are incorporated into each issue in the appropriate manner. Her favorite part about working for the “Smart Girls Group” is that “although [the members] live so far apart, we can collaborate to create this wonderful publication.”

Another Fordham student who is a member of the “Smart Girls Group” community is Alexandra Kennedy, FCRH ’15, who is the social media intern for the group.

Ironically, it was through a social media outlet that Gagliardi got interested in the “Smart Girls Group.” She found out about the website though Facebook and conversations with her roommate, who is a fan of the publication.

Gagliardi is in charge of tweeting about the different issues published and expanding the community of girls through social media outlets. As a member and intern she finds the interactions among the community a great way to get to know other girls.

“I read the Loop Posts and the Smart Girls Guide, which were really inspired by the girls who were contributing,” Gagliardi said. “It was this that made me want to join the community.”

As a freshman at Fordham University, Raleigh has been successful so far. She is a part of the Entrepreneurship Society on campus, which is a student run group for driven individuals who would like to start a business or express their future business ideas.

Raleigh is mentored by Dr. Christine Janssen, the director for the Entrepreneurship Society and co-director of Fordham’s Center for Entrepreneurship and the newly-developed Fordham Foundry.

Janssen says that Raleigh “is great with people and organizing her thoughts. [She] was able to turn a hobby into a successful business, which can bring in revenue.”

Raleigh is currently working alongside Janssen on communication, public relations and community outreach pertaining to Fordham’s incubator program and foundry.

The “Smart Girls Group” has been featured in previous issues of both Notre Dame’s The Observer and St. Mary’s The Rattler. In fact, Raleigh gave speeches to girls that currently attend both Notre Dame and St. Mary’s about the “Smart Girls Group.”

Although the success of the business can be overwhelming, Raleigh remains grounded and finds joy in helping girls reach their full potential.

Raleigh says it is her devoted work ethic that has led her to develop a way to effectively engage and connect girls worldwide.

Student Businesses on Campus

This is the first part of a three-part series.