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The Night Wasn't the Story. The Girls Are.

  • Aug 5
  • 6 min read

Updated: 7 days ago


On July 22, our Girls of Legacy community gathered in Round Rock, Texas, hosted by one of our sponsors at the premier downtown venue, Centro. Donors, mentors, business leaders, volunteers, family, and friends came together for one reason: to invest in young women whose potential is far greater than the circumstances they started with.


The evening’s theme was Texas glam. This year was special as we focused on celebrating four of our inaugural girls who are taking the stage this year to receive their bachelor's degrees from Texas schools. Girls of Legacy is not simply a scholarship fund. It is a long-term commitment to mentor and walk beside first-generation college students from underserved Title I schools as they build lives of purpose, leadership, and impact.



This year carried special meaning. When we launched Girls of Legacy in 2022, we made a promise to our first class of high school seniors: We would walk with them through college. This summer, we had the privilege of celebrating members of that inaugural class as college graduates. That moment was years in the making, and it belongs to every student who kept going and every mentor and supporter who kept showing up.


Each Girl of Legacy has her own story, but they share a powerful decision: where they began will not determine where they finish. I know personally how life-changing it is when someone sees the possibility in you before you fully see it yourself. With scholarship support, accountability, mentorship, and a community that refuses to let them shrink their dreams, these young women are not only earning degrees. They are creating a new legacy.


Alaiysha Murphy | Inaugural Girls of Legacy Scholar



One of the stories that stayed with me this year was Alaiysha's.


Alaiysha is pursuing STEM studies at Texas A&M University. Over the past year, her family also faced a crisis far beyond the classroom when Hurricane Melissa leveled her grandmother's home in Jamaica. In that difficult season, earlier this summer, through LaunchPad and Girls of Legacy, we had the opportunity to support her family's rebuilding effort. It was a deeply personal reminder that mentorship cannot be limited to academic milestones. When one of our girls is carrying something heavy, we want her to know she does not carry it alone.


When I asked what that support meant to her, Alaiysha put the heart of this program into words:


“The support Girls of Legacy has shown my family means more than I can put into words. It reminded me that this program is about so much more than scholarships. It showed me that I am part of a family that genuinely cares about my well-being and shows up to mobilize support for me and my grandmother, who is thousands of miles away in Jamaica. They truly demonstrate it with love, support, and rebuilding. I am forever grateful to Ms. Rebecca and Girls of Legacy.”


That is the difference between simply funding a student scholarship and standing with her in life tragedy and circumstances outside of her control.


Girls of Legacy was never designed only to help a student earn a degree. It was built to surround young women with people who believe in them through the celebrations and the setbacks, the confident seasons and the uncertain ones.


Alaiysha says the program has given her confidence, mentorship, opportunity, and a support system she can count on as a first-generation college student. She also intends to give back to others the way people have invested in her. That is how legacy works: someone opens a door for you, and in time, you hold it open for someone else.


Israa Wadif and Mentor Crystaline Lopez



One of the greatest privileges of this work is watching a mentoring relationship deepen over several years.


My daughter, Crystaline Lopez, serves as the Girls of Legacy Program Director and as Israa's mentor. She has had a front-row seat to Israa's growth.


When I asked Crystaline what had changed most, she did not hesitate: confidence. Not only confidence in communication, but in decision-making, leadership, perseverance, and the belief that she belongs in rooms no one in her family has entered before.


Crystaline said it this way:


“She is paving a new path in her family that hasn't been paved before, and we've simply had the privilege of coming alongside her to support that journey.”


That is mentorship at its best. Our mentors do not manufacture potential. They help a young woman recognize, strengthen, and act on the potential that was already there. Israa is paving a new path for her family, and we have the honor of walking beside her as she does it.


Naisha Giles and Ma'Khiyah Scott



Some of the most meaningful moments that night happened away from the stage.

Chris Lopez, a volunteer member of the Girls of Legacy leadership team, spent time talking with Naisha and Ma'Khiyah about their work serving young people through the YMCA and Boys & Girls Club. Their stories immediately took him back to the beginning of his own journey.


Chris also began in the YMCA after-school programs. What looked like a simple opportunity to serve became a doorway to relationships, responsibility, and purpose. That commitment eventually led him to LaunchPad, where he spent five years working alongside my husband David and me to serve thousands of LaunchPad students enrolled for a decade in our after-school program.


Along the way, life came full circle. Chris, who had been friends with our daughter Crystaline, got to know our family more through LaunchPad. Over a decade later, they are married with their own children, serving in their community through their ministry of Bella Eden. Today, he also serves full-time as Operations and Marketing Manager at AvantGarde while continuing to advance the Girls of Legacy mission with our family.


His message to Naisha and Ma'Khiyah was simple: never underestimate where service can lead.


“You never know what doors may open, what relationships you'll build, or where one act of service might lead.”


Chris's life is proof. One decision to serve led to lifelong friendships, meaningful work, family, and purpose. I see that same spirit growing in Naisha and Ma'Khiyah. Even as they build their own futures, they are already investing in the generation coming behind them.


Ranya | Inaugural Girls of Legacy Scholar



Ranya has been part of Girls of Legacy from the beginning. This year she is one of our inaugural girls and graduates from the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in Journalism with a minor in statistics and data science with a certificate in computer science. She has experienced how consistent mentorship and encouragement can shape more than a student's education. They can shape how she sees herself and what she believes is possible. Ranya will remain involved in Girls of Legacy while pursuing a Master of Science in Information Technology and Management at UT.


When I asked what Girls of Legacy has meant to her, Ranya immediately spoke about her mentor, Kalpa:


“Girls of Legacy helped shape my future by giving me the confidence and support I needed to achieve my goals. Having Kalpa as my mentor has truly made such a big difference. Just knowing that she was in my corner no matter what really encouraged me to go after my goals.”


She also named the part of the program no dollar amount can measure:


“What Girls of Legacy gave me that can't be measured is incredible mentorship and support. I truly believe I wouldn't be able to find the support I received anywhere else.”

Ranya hopes her story will encourage another young woman to apply. Sometimes the first step toward transformation is having someone believe in you until you learn to believe in yourself.


This year's fundraiser reinforced what we have known from the beginning: the scholarship matters, but the relationship changes lives.


It is about building confidence.


It is about connecting young women with mentors who remain present long after high school graduation.


It is about developing leaders who will pour back into their own communities.


Most of all, it is about changing the trajectory of families for generations to come.


Fundraiser Impact


Because of the generosity of our sponsors, donors, mentors, and supporters, this year's fundraiser generated $25,000 achieving our goal for the night, with my personal and AvantGarde match of an additional $25,000 we will have $50,000 in scholarships for the fall/winter 2026/27 year! These funds will support college scholarships, one-on-one mentorship, leadership and communication development, educational resources, and opportunities that help our students move from college into meaningful careers.


Every dollar invested reaches beyond one student. It reaches the family she will strengthen, the workplace she will lead, the community she will serve, and the young person she may one day mentor.


As I reflect on this year's fundraiser, I am encouraged—not because we hosted a successful event, but because these young women continue to show us what is possible when opportunity meets grit, guidance, and belief.


The fundraiser lasted one night. The impact will last for generations.



Learn More About Girls of Legacy


Learn more about Girls of Legacy, become a mentor, or give to the matching program and invest in the next generation of first-generation college women:



When you give $100, Rebecca matches it and it becomes $200 towards the scholarships that will be issued in all 2026 to our Girls of Legacy. This year Rebecca is also rebuilding Alaiysha’s grandmother's home in Jamaica, devastated by the floods, and if you want to contribute to that cause, 100% of what you give will be donated to the rebuild initiative. Designate your giving today and partner with us to make a difference for our Girls of Legacy!





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