Stringers

Girls! Meet our Stringers! Regular contributors to GAC, they’re part of our mission to talk to you, report current issues, and share personal experiences! We want to empower girls to speak up. Be strong! Create stories and media from your perspective! AGP Stringers send in stories, articles, and more anywhere from once a week to once a month! They have mounds of enthusiasm for you and all the visitors. If you’d like to shout out! and submit your own story or article, go to the Contact Us page! We want to hear from you, too!

GAC Stringer: Sarah
Born in: California
Family: Mom, Mary; Dad, Dave; Brother, Dwight
Who's your role model/someone you admire and why? I admire my dad because he is creative and logical at the same time. Plus he always encourages me to do my best.
Book/author that touches you deeply: Hope was Here by Joan Bauer
Favorite Movie: Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
Music artist/CD that makes you want to live your best life: Goo Goo Dolls
Most amazing experience: Winning the championship meet in gymnastics after I someone had tried to disqualify me
A miracle you'd like to be a part of: Participating in the Olympic Games
Life-changing moment: Changing schools in 8th grade and not knowing a single person
Dream you're going after: Become a ballet dancer
Who or what inspires you in fitness/sports: I am inspired by Kerri Strug, a member of the 1996 U.S. Olympic Team in gymnastics, who vaulted with a broken ankle so her team could win the gold medal.

GAC Stringer: Natalie
Born in: California
Family: Dad - Frank (he's an awesome keyboardist!), Mom - JoAnn (she's an awesome artist!), Sister - Naomi (13 years old (almost 14 on June 18)) - she's four inches taller than me!
Who's your role model/someone you admire and why? My parents because they have so much patience with me and never stop caring for me, Mother Theresa because she saw and cared for the people that the world wanted to ignore
Book/author that touches you deeply: The Little Prince - Antoine Saint-Exupery, Night - Elie Wiesel, Cien Anos de Soledad - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Favorite movie: Dead Poet's Society, The Breakfast Club, Almost Famous, Uptown Girls, 10 Things I Hate About You, Pride and Prejudice
Music artist/CD that makes you want to live your best life: John Lennon, The Beatles, Jimmy Eat World
Most amazing experience: Going to Ecuador and living in a small village called Catarama where I was able to meet the people there and help build a school called Luz y Vida. The people there were so loving and warm-hearted. One of the best parts was bathing in the river!
A miracle you'd like to be a part of: Finding a cure for cancer
Life-changing moment: every discussion in my AP Spanish Literature for me is a life-changing moment because i learn so much more about the world around me and different thought systems
Dream you're going after: Changing a person's life, become fluent in at least five languages (including sign language)
Who or what inspires you in fitness/sports: my lacrosse coach Natalie Philpot, my lacrosse team, my doubles tennis partner Jocelyn, when the underdog wins!

GAC Stringer: Emily
Born in: Ohio
Family: A writer mother, motorcyclist father, and volleyball player sister
Who's your role model/someone you admire and why? Gloria Steinem is a fantastic writer and thinker who puts her ideas into action.
Book/author that touches you deeply: Haruki Murakami
Favorite movie: "The Royal Tenenbaums"
Music artist/CD that makes you want to live your best life: Joss Stone
Most amazing experience: Working at a newspaper in South Africa and not knowing what kind of issues and people I would encounter throughout the day
A miracle you'd like to be a part of: The upcoming AIDS LifeCycle ride to raise money for HIV prevention and education initiatives in South Africa and California
Life-changing moment: The first time I saw my little sister
Dream You're going after: Writing a novel

GAC Stringer: Beckie
Born in: California
Age/year in school: I’m 15 and I'm going to be a Junior for the '07-'08 school year
Family: I live with my mom, dad, and older brother Jacob (who is going to Carnegie Mellon Univ next fall) and my dog, Rocky, who is a 6 year old boxer. And my grandmother lives really close by and is over all the time!
Who's your role model/someone you admire and why? I admire my grandma because she has been through so many hardships throughout her life that many people couldn't even imagine (she immigrated from Russia way back in bad times) and she still manages to keep a smile on her face at all times and is so selfless and she cares about everyone. Also, she gives the best hugs out of anyone I have ever met.
Book/author that touches you deeply: There are so many! Of course I like all those chick books by Meg Cabot, but one of my favorite favorite favorite books is STARGIRL! by Jerry Spinelli
Favorite movie: I don't have a favorite movie, but my favorite TV series are Lost, House, Gilmore Girls, and Grey's Anatomy
Music artist/CD that makes you want to Live your best life: I love U2's song: Beautiful Day. And for dancing, I like all those hyphy songs.
Most amazing experience: I once played a waterpolo game and it got dark really early that evening, so they turned on the stadium lights around the swimming pool and i felt like a professional player! I felt so famous and with the lights beaming down on you, you really just want to play your best game and swim your hardest and just show everyone how great your whole team is! Those stadium lights make you feel absolutely amazing.
A miracle you'd like to be a part of: Thinking...I’ll get back to you on that.
Life-changing Moment: I went to this one summer camp at the end of sixth grade, the summer before seventh, and there were just so many firsts there and I really grew up. It was the first time I danced with a boy and the first time I spent such a long time (3 weeks) away from home, and I really grew more independent and grew up as an individual.
Dream you're going after: I never ever ever want to turn sour and bitter and worn by time. I'm going to have a smile on my face till the very last day.
Who or what inspires you in fitness/sports: As mentioned above, those "friday night lights" definitely inspire me and my whole team. By the end of the season, everyone on my team is like a sister to me. Neither of my sports are exactly "pretty sports" so by the end of the season, after we've all seen each other's bedhead, no makeup, dead tired look...we all grow really close and totally open with each other. Also, my swim coach, Barton Wells inspires me. And so does my water polo coach, Kandace Lopez.

GAC Stringer: Jennifer J. Anthony
Jennifer is a native Californian who works at a not-for-profit education policy research institution to support her travel habit. She travels near and far in search of fun and funny stories, sometimes dragging her sixteen-year-old Big Brothers Big Sisters mentee along with her. Recent sporting adventures include skydiving, trapeze school in San Francisco, ziplining in Costa Rica, and trekking through rice paddies in Vietnam. She has an MFA in writing for children and a MA in psychology. More about her can be found on her website: www.jenniferanthony.net.
Born in: California
Family: I am really lucky to have a fabulously loving and supportive family.
Who's your role model/someone you admire and why? My parents. My writing mentor, Susan Campbell Bartoletti, who has gone far beyond the call of duty. People who stand up and fight for all of us: Gandhi, MT (that’s Mother Teresa to you), Cesar Chavez.
Book/author that touches you deeply: Native Son by Richard Wright, The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. Both have affected me in profound ways. And 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, for freeing my writing.
Favorite movies: The English Patient. The Mission. Like Water for Chocolate. Frida.
Music artist/CD that makes you want to live your best life: Nina Simone. She didn’t mess around.
Most amazing experience: Skydiving. Whoa, beyond comparison. I didn’t stop shaking or mumbling expletives for a long time afterwards, and I still can’t believe I did it.
A miracle you'd like to be a part of: I’m waiting for this chilling political climate to shift, and for America to devote more attention and money to what really matters – respecting life in all its forms. I try to work toward that on a small scale.
Life-changing moment: Volunteering in Vietnam – it was both inspiring and humbling.
Dream you're going after: One dream is to publish a novel. Another is to visit every continent on Earth.
Who or what inspires you in fitness/sports: Oddly, my coworkers. They are always trying new sports and have been incredibly supportive of mine. When I did a three-day walk for MS a few years ago, they were my biggest fans and supporters besides my immediate family.

GAC Stringer: Nichole
Born in: Redwood City, California
Family: mom: Debbie (Stanford Hospital Surgery Scheduler); dad: Paul (construction worker); brother: Stephen (26 years old and 6'5!); brother: David (21 years old and 6'2!) tall brothers?
Who's your role model/someone you admire and why? My role model is a family friend, Christine Hegedus. She's my role model because she goes to UC Berkeley which is my dream school, is in the Molecular Toxicology Program at Berkeley, and has done medical research on finding differences in proteins among various leukemia subtypes, which may be useful for clinical diagnosis or understanding how different leukemias develop.
Book/author that touches you deeply: My most favorite book is called Blind Faith by Ellen Wittlinger.
Favorite movies: It's between Grease and Dirty Dancing.
Music artist/CD that makes you want to live your best life: Kelly Clarkson
Most amazing experience: So far it has been my 8th Grade Graduation from Nativity School.
A miracle you'd like to be a part of: Help making CYO, Catholic Youth Organization (the new and improved one) known to people everywhere so they can meet new people and learn new things.
Life-changing moment: : Going to CYO camp in Occidental in the summer of '06 and having the time of my life. After meeting new friends and learning new things, people shut down the camp for dumb reasons and fired all of the staff! Made me and all of my friends MAD! But now, all of the original staff has made CYO camp the same as it was in Occidental in a new location. We all plan on going there next summer!!
Dream you're going after: Graduating High School and hopefully getting into UC Berkeley or UC Davis.
Who or what inspires you in fitness/sports: : Gabrielle Reece—famous volleyball player. She played volleyball at Florida State then hit the pro circuit.

GAC Stringer: Bree Pettit (aka. Breezy, Breepea, or Banana!)
Born in: Santa Barbara, California
Family: Mom (Eilene), Dad (Vince), "Uncle" Gil, "Auntie" Linda, the Stewarts, the Lee's, Aunt Bea, Cousin Jimmy & Cristina, Luis and Sandra, and Coach Watkins.
Who's your role model/someone you admire and why? I admire my Mom for her courage and strength in life. She is the epitome of a Renaissance Woman. She has done everything from a dispatcher at the Sheriff's department, to substitute teaching, to owning a flower stand with my dad, to Foster Care and now has her very own Bed & Breakfast in Beautiful Santa Barbara. What really inspires me about my Mom is how she always seems to know what she wants and is not afraid to ask for it.
Book/author that touches you deeply: The Celestine Prophecy and The Secret.
Favorite movies: Dumb and Dumber; Happy Feet
Music artist/CD that makes you want to live your best life: Sting, Ben Harper, The Gypsy Kings
Most amazing experience: Traveling to Peru with a native Peruvian and discovering an entire new world outside of the one I know in the United States. The best part was the awesome surf, amazing food, and incredibly passionate and loving Peruvian people.
A miracle you'd like to be a part of: The transformation of my community (Santa Barbara) and the world. Ending violence and discrimination. Creating peace within diverse communities. Having Landmark Education (life enhancing program) be a requirement for all political leaders in every country around the world to complete.
Life-changing moment: Completing the Landmark Forum—I learned so much about myself and how I will achieve my goals in the future.
Dream you're going after: Having Yoga classes available in airports. Starting up a Yoga School for kids. Running a marathon in under 4 hours, with little training. Surfing a wave at Pico Alto in Punta Hermosa, Peru...and surviving it !
Who or what inspires you in fitness/sports: The UC Berkeley Triathlon and Cycling clubs for their support and love for their team members. Marie Claire Lamb for her incredible strength, endurance, determination and courage in sports. Chris Ellefson for his genuine love of the bicycle. Melanie Michalak for her hard-core mental strength. And my wonderful life coach, Richard Watkins, for his endless guidance and support in every challenge that I take on in life.
Miscellaneous: Bree received a B.A. in Psychology at the University of California, Berkeley and she's a multi-sport athlete. In college, she competed on the Triathlon team for 4 years, and the cycling team for 1 year and raced in the following sports: running, road biking, mountain biking, and cyclocross. As an avid volunteer, Bree founded and directed a middle school fitness/nutrition program in Oakland, served in drop-in center for homeless women and children, and currently teaches yoga to kids. AGP got to know Bree at a 5-K race for young girls. She is now excited about writing and volunteering with GAC and sharing her world with all of you girls!

GAC Stringer: Rachel
Born in: San Francisco, California
Family: Mom - Sherry (physical therapist), Dad - Greg (investment manager), older sister - Jessi, 2 younger brothers - Michael and David.
Who's your role model/someone you admire and why? I've been struggling with this one for a while because there are so many people in my life that I admire, but right now I especially look up to my Grandpa. He's one of the most amazing, selfless people I will ever know. For over a year my Grandma has been in and out of the hospital for numerous reasons and he has been so good to her. When he visited last summer (he lives in Youngstown, Ohio) we had the best time. He always makes me laugh and is obsessed with the most random silly things.
Book/author that touches you deeply: I'm not going to lie… I'm not a big reader but I love Whitman and Emerson. They are so deep! I love picking out quotations from their work.
Favorite Movie(s): Life as a House, Crash, The Notebook, P.S. I Love You (I want to marry an Irishman now!), Wedding Crashers, Under the Tuscan Sun, and Dirty Dancing Havana Nights.
Music artist/CD that makes you want to live your best life: Chris Ayer, John Mayer, Dashboard Confessional, Matt Nathanson and the soundtrack to RENT.
Most amazing experience: I went to Costa Rica this winter vacation with my family and one of the things we did was raft down a class-5 river…yes with mini-waterfalls. It was so scary but so exhilarating at the same time. We stayed overnight right next to the river in the town of Brujo. This town had 40 families, 1 plumber, 1 electrician, and they communicated with walkie-talkies. It was such a different lifestyle than I'm used to. The windows of our host family's house were just holes cut in the wall. While we were there, my family and the river guides played soccer with the locals. It was such an awesome experience!
A miracle you'd like to be a part of: Saving lives in any way I can, giving less fortunate kids opportunities for a good education.
Life-changing moment: I can't think of anything that I have already done, but on January 27, 2008, I am going to school in Maine for a semester. I will be living on a farm with 35 other students from around the country, still taking all my same classes, but in a very rustic setting. We have to cut our own firewood to heat our cabins, I might be milking cows, composting, replacing different sources of energy with more efficient ones…It's going to be crazy!!! I'm so nervous and anxious, excited but sad to leave my family and friends.
Dream you're going after: Playing soccer in college and living in at least 3 different countries during my life. I LOVE traveling and I really want to become fluent in Spanish.
Who or what inspires you in fitness/sports: My teammates, my friends who excel in different parts of their lives, like dance.

GAC Stringer: Tessa
Born in: California
Family: Mom - Jennifer (great cook), Dad - Marcel (loves to run), younger brother – Andrew (loves sports), younger sister - Juliette (loves art), Oreo - family cat (loves to play).
Who's your role model/someone you admire and why? My parents because they are the ones who raised me and taught me right from wrong. When I grow up, I want to be just like them.
Book/author that touches you deeply: Where The Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls, The Diary of Anne Frank by Anne Frank, and Black Beauty by Anna Sewell
Favorite Movie(s): The Heart of the Game, Harry Potter 1 through 5, and The Secret Garden
Music artist/CD that makes you want to live your best life: "Unwritten" by Natasha Bedingfield
Most amazing experience: Maybe being a winner in the GAC Writing & Drawing Contest because it made me believe that I could make a difference, no matter how big or small.
A miracle you'd like to be a part of: Making California the most environment-friendly state in the U.S.
Life-changing moment: When I got my cat, Oreo. I'd wanted a cat for so long!!!
Dream you're going after: To either start an organization to fund wildlife preserves, or found a preserve myself (I'm a BIG animal lover!!!)
Who or what inspires you in fitness/sports: The people who always inspire me the most are my coaches and my teammates, whoever they may be from year to year.