scrawl on the walls

Diop, who dreams of returning to Africa to build a hospital, says she has learned that if you can endure the taunts of mean girls, you become stronger, your self-worth not tied up in who likes or doesn’t like you.

Middle and high school “gave me the guts to confront anybody,” she says. “It influenced me to run for my position on the senate … and get into a circle of girls who have a purpose in life.”