As the train horn sounded and the steel wheels came to a halt, Holly Gordon ‘89 listened to David, a Chinese government-sanctioned tour guide, share his truth. His truth was the story of Communist China, and Ms, Gordon listened “with [her] whole heart and [her] whole being.” While he talked about his fears for both his own future and that of the country, Ms. Gordon asked questions “that came from a place of deep empathy and a desire to understand, to find connection, to share his fears and dreams.”
Though she felt helpless to do anything for David’s situation on the train that night, the experience prompted a desire to live a life that would put her out in the world. Ms. Gordon could only listen to David, but she is now able to spark monuments change within the lives of thousands with her campaign, Girl Rising. Revisiting her beginnings, Holly Gordon shared her thoughts with the Groton community on Monday, October 3.
Ms. Gordon is the founder of Girl Rising, a global campaign for girls’ education and empowerment, with a mission of changing “the way the world values the girl.” She is also the executive producer of the Girl Rising film, one that tells the stories of nine girls from nine different countries. Before Girl Rising, Holly Gordon worked at the Tribeca Film Festival, and before that at ABC News, where she was a producer and booker for major news broadcasts. The common theme that has threaded her work is, as she puts it, “the power of story to change hearts and minds” and “the importance of building strong and enduring relationships to forward progress on anything.”
In an inspiring chapel talk, Ms. Gordon ’89 explained that to become an expert in anything takes 10,000 hours of practice. Girl Rising, she said, “was the culmination of 10,000 hours of doing three things”––listening, building trust and understanding, and, most importantly, sharing stories. Her first 100 hours of practice came during her time at Groton, when she visited China in her fifth form year at Groton (1988) and honed her skills as a listener.
Interestingly, Ms. Gordon was as motivated by a business challenge as she was by the moral imperative to start Girl Rising. While the data regarding the importance of girls’ education was clear, girls were still facing discrimination around the world. As a journalist, she had the confidence that storytelling would stimulate change. Ms. Gordon said that the business question became: “in a very noisy world, how do you make sure that your game-changing message breaks through?” Ms. Gordon sees many challenges around the world whose solutions can be accelerated by great storytelling, and she says that “it is in that work where my enduring passions lie.”
While producing Girl Rising, Ms. Gordon and her colleagues chose the girls not because they were “extraordinary,” but instead because their lives “reflect the lives of the 62 million girls around the world who don’t have the opportunity to learn and reach their fullest potential.” As she herself said, “We are all humans. And education allows us to experience humanity more richly, deeply and productively. It is a gateway to everything else. The girls in Girl Rising know that and they just want a chance.”
Born to British parents in Kenya, Ms. Gordon acquired her international outlook through travel during both her child and adult life. She frequently went back to Kenya throughout her youth, and she said, “these visits gave me a sense of belonging somewhere beyond the USA, which I think shaped my sense of being a global citizen.”
Right after college, she spent an “intense and immersive” four months travelling around India by herself. It was in Dharamsala (home to the Dalai Lama) that she had an epiphany and decided to pursue journalism as a career. As a young producer at ABC news, she was sent to report on the Albanian refugee crisis in Kosovo. Meeting helpless refugees, particularly a woman her age named Albana, “gave me a shocking and unforgettable perspective on the fragility of ‘normal life’ and a deep conviction that we all have an obligation to help our fellow humans in times of crisis.”
On October 10th, Ms. Gordon spoke with the Groton Girls Alliance (GGA) about her experiences creating Girl Rising. She emphasized how the challenges—balancing various aspects as a student, demerits, major commitments, and college—she faced at Groton ultimately led to her being a successful reporter. GGA head Blaire Donohue ’18 said, “It was really inspiring to hear her relate the trials and tribulations we experience every day at school with her future success.”
Groton has had a deep influence on Holly’s life. Academically, Groton’s emphasis on writing honed her ability to communicate effectively, which she points to as a crucial skill in everyday life. In addition, Ms. Gordon said, “the constant reminders… about the responsibility of each Groton student to pay the extraordinary privilege of a first-class education forward by being an engaged citizen in the world was a meaningful motivator in my life.”
Finally, the vigorous work ethic that Groton demands gave Ms. Gordon a “strong foundation for the kind of effort it takes to start something and see it though.” She has powerful advice for current Groton students: work hard, do your best, make good friends, try new things, and most of all, follow your heart and intellectual curiosity.