On August 26, the widely-recognized date that women won the right to vote in 1920, women's soccer head coach Katie Awerkamp set up a collaborative event with Girls Leading Girls, a San Francisco nonprofit that trains young women in leadership through soccer, as well as director of athletics Colin Preston and associate athletics director Ashley Adams. That same day, women's basketball head coach LaNay Larson joined Congresswoman Jackie Speier in an address to the student body at Mercy High School, an all-girls institution in Burlingame.

"It's our mission to continue to advocate and celebrate diversity and inclusion," said Preston. "This was an important day in our country's history for women's equality and we were proud to have our women's soccer team not only run a clinic, but also educate the youth on the history of Title IX and the important role that each of them will have to enhance girls in sports."
Women's soccer and its administration joined members of Girls Leading Girls at the Marina Green between Fort Mason and the Presidio. Girls Leading Girls, an organization ART U has worked with previously, uses soccer as an avenue to teach young women life skills, focusing on skill development within the sport, leadership training through mentor programs, and character building through community service initiatives.
 
"National Women's Equality Day raises great awareness about the importance of women being equal whether it's in school, sports, or the workforce," said Awerkamp. "As a female in college athletics, I am happy to see our team teaching our younger generations about women's equality early so they understand the importance as well so they know and understand their rights as they grow up and continue to help raise awareness."

Academy of Art and Girls Leading Girls organized a basic training session that started with different stations including dribbling, passing, and the procedure for heading a ball. The conclusion was a scrimmage that included some of the Urban Knights' current student-athletes and united all in attendance.

"I think National Women's Equality Day is extremely important, especially for young girls who are just getting involved in sports," said Adams. "It's a great opportunity to instill confidence and it allows girls to own their athleticism. The Academy of Art has a great platform to show girls that they can excel in athletics and in art and design. Our student-athletes are great role models of just how well these two areas coincide."

At Mercy High School following a series of speakers that included Congresswoman Speier, Mercy principal Dorothy McCrea, and University of San Francisco women's volleyball head coach Gilad Doron, Larson had a chance to address the students. She shared her experiences as both a player and coach at the collegiate level and provided encouragement regarding the challenges women face in athletics.

"I think it is a great opportunity for us to educate people not only about our athletic department, but also our university and the fact that it is very successfully headed by a female president in Dr. Elisa Stephens," said Larson.