Meet Thrisha Senthilnathan of We Rise Above in Cerritos

Today we’d like to introduce you to Thrisha Senthilnathan.

It all began on a post-it note and the dream of a National Girl Scout Gold Award scout. It now has turned into a major movement with more than 500 volunteers in over 50 schools nationwide. We Rise Above [WRA] is an organization founded by Thrisha Senthilnathan and which was established to educate the community into fully understanding the effects of sexual harassment; how to identify and prevent it. Thrisha started in one school in La County, conducting an entire sexual violence program using awareness weeks and workshops. After gaining support from the entire community, WRA started to grow not only within the SOCAL region but also online and throughout the country.

We gained a sudden increase in followers and our non-profit’s lives have changed and impacted so many. Not only have we educated students, but we also have saved the lives of people by helping them through their situation and providing them with resources. For the past year, we have educated over 25,000 students and helped over 500 survivors across the country. We do so many different workshops and seminars that have educated students profoundly and we hope our impact continues further and every school in the country eventually adopts WRA into their school. WRA is just over a year old and has developed a huge teen to teen connection with thousands and thousands of teens. This is what makes WRA standout because the connection WRA develops between students because it is easier to learn from a peer rather than an adult about these very sensitive topics.

Has it been a smooth road?
It has been a smooth road so far. However, making people take Thrisha seriously did take some time. There is a stigma around highschoolers and making lasting and sustainable change. Many believe that people only do these things for college applications, however, this is a true passion grown to over 500 volunteers. This awareness is very crucial for high schoolers to understand and it will play an important part in taking a step toward safety for all.

We’d love to hear more about your organization.
We Rise Above [WRA] is an organization founded by Thrisha Senthilnathan and which was established to educate the community into fully understanding the effects of sexual harassment; how to identify and prevent it; how to be safe and to raise awareness on this sensitive issue. WRA strives to speak for victims who have been silenced, help the community have access to valuable resources and carve a path for the younger generation to make a change, perhaps even one day eradicate sexual violence. WRA is a youth-led non-profit organization that has taken on the challenge to discuss not only sexual violence/prevention but topics surrounding it such as drug use, dress code, mental health, parties, mental health issues, and even self-defense.

WRA uses workshops, awareness weeks and seminars, rallies and assemblies, podcasts, survivor spotlights, newsletters, survivor shelter donations to spread awareness. We want to make sure that students are prepared for the future. We want to make sure all students are made aware of what sexual violence actually is and have the education they deserve to know to help them prepare for the future. WRA is just over a year old and has developed a huge teen to teen connection with thousands and thousands of teens. This is what makes WRA standout because the connection WRAdevelops between students because it is easier to learn from a peer rather than an adult about these very sensitive topics. By doing this, it gives teens a safe space to learn about sexual abuse giving students, along with staff the education needed to take what they have learned into real-world circumstances. WRA takes on other topics such as dress codes, sexual violence in sports, and the difference between harassment, assault, and domestic abuse. Something we are very proud of is the lives we have educated and the number of lives we have helped saved and the positive impact and community we have developed.

How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
We see our non-profit being implemented into thousands and thousands of schools to make sure each student receives the education they deserve to help them in the future. We hope to continue donating to survivor shelters and increasing our platform to raise awareness. We hope to start a #weriseabove movement just like the #metoo movement.

Contact Info:

• Address: 5341 duke Drive, La Palma, CA 90623
• Website: wrafoundation.org
• Phone: 562-746-6641
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/weriseaboveofficial/
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@weriseaboveofficial?_d=d9g0mj1i6gc61g&language=en&sec_uid=MS4wLjABAAAAquaXQmTlyvo-vShhg384j0rXRlZFcnO3Tz0XQ3RuGyFfRGLdf96_vbS7jHG3w7pB&share_author_id=6839513558083044357&u_code=dd25l20g3i23m3&utm_campaign=client_share&utm_medium=ios&user_id=6839513558083044357&tt_from=copy&utm_source=copy&source=h5_m

Image Credit:
Photos Taken By Thrisha Senthilnathan(Founder/CEO)

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