Seniors Kenza Mahdaoui and Joanna Sikoutris started a Capstone project to give women at the high school access to feminine hygiene products.

To get their project off the ground, Mahdaoui and Sikoutris reached out to both staff and students for help. “Kenza and I have been talking to Ms. Thompson who has helped send out staff emails in hopes of gaining staff donations and awareness,” Sikoutris said.

Through their research, Mahdaoui and Sikoutris realized that there was no publicity surrounding the lack of female sanitary products. Mahdaoui said, “I wanted this capstone to be meaningful rather than something I’m doing for just a grade. I wanted this to affect the women at our high school by making them feel comfortable and worry-free when it comes to their period.”

By starting this project, Mahdaoui and Sikoutris gained a lot of attention through their use of social media and word of mouth. “Kenza, Ms. Thompson, and I have worked together to send out staff emails to gain commotion around the school, even with the students,” Sikoutris said.

Through the hard work and dedication that these two students have put into this project, Capstone teacher Kim Thompson hopes that it makes other girls realize to not take everything for granted. She said, “I think it’s a really positive thing that they’re doing and will maybe help people stop and think about how not everybody has access to all of the things that some of us do.”

Mahdaoui’s message reached all of the community and was elated to hear the positive feedback. “The amount of comments from students talking about how much they like the project and how it’s been useful for them has really made it easier to work harder and harder for this class,” she said.

Even outside of class, Mahdaoui and Sikoutris have checked-in on their projects all throughout the school. Sikoutris said, “At the beginning of every week, Kenza and I go and walk around, and it is fun to see how many people have taken advantage of the feminine products. We have been really grateful to see that so many women have used these resources!”

Thompson has already seen the amount of pride these two students have gained from doing this project, hoping they will always cherish their hard work for years to come. “It’s pretty powerful for some people to know that they have done something that has really impacted the community, and I can definitely see it through Kenza and Joanna’s mentality through all of this,” Thompson said.

As Sikoutris and Mahdaoui’s time at the high school comes to a close, they hope to see other students bring this project back in the near future. Mahdaoui said, “I hope students take away from this project that they don’t have to hide their period products. It can be something that’s normal to talk about and have access to anywhere you go.”