KANAWHA COUNTY, W.Va. (WCHS) — She's West Virginia's first female U.S. Senator, and Shelley Moore Capito is helping support the next generation of women leaders with her initiative 'Girls Rise Up'.
"I thought, Hey, what would I want my daughter to hear, and I want her to hear, Hey, I saw your mom at Sissonville Middle School, and I'm going to run for county commission or I'm going to own my own business," Capito said.
Since 2015, Capito has brought "Girls Rise Up" to schools across West Virginia.
While the Sissonville Middle School assembly added two familiar faces — Chief Justice Walker and Justice Bunn, both women in power. With the hope of inspiring the next generation of female leaders.
"You don't just start off with all the confidence and knowledge in the world; it takes some failure and some trying again to get up and go to really get to a place of leadership and to show they've got what it takes," Supreme Court Justice Haley Bunn said.
As the initiative looks to encourage young women with three steps: education, confidence and wellness.
Fifth grader Ivy Chen said she looks to become a computer programmer and has found her voice with the initiative.
"It was great, and it helped me a lot because back then I didn't usually speak up for myself," Chen said.
While the "Girls Rise Up" program looks to get bigger every year, Capito said the goal is to encourage as many young girls as possible.
"One of the things that encourages young girls is to see what that really looks like, and if you can see me, you can be me," she said.