Founded at UCLA in 1992, Women and Youth Supporting Each Other (WYSE) emerged from a vision to provide comprehensive support and resources for young women navigating the critical middle school years. What began as a single program in Los Angeles, California has evolved into a national movement with ten university branches, all united by the mission of empowering girls to make confident life decisions and create meaningful change in their communities. WYSE represents a unique approach to youth development—a program created by women, for women, designed to fill gaps that traditional schooling often leaves unaddressed.
At its heart, WYSE is about building authentic relationships and fostering genuine connections between UCLA student mentors and middle school mentees. The program currently serves students from Mark Twain Middle School and Francisco Sepulveda Middle School, with more than forty dedicated mentors creating individual partnerships that last throughout the entire school year. These mentoring relationships go beyond curriculum delivery; they represent spaces where young women can be vulnerable, ask questions, and receive guidance from peer role models who understand their experiences.
The Los Angeles-based program balances structured learning with experiential growth. While the curriculum addresses important topics like mental health, identity, feminism, and puberty, mentors also draw from their own lived experiences to create meaningful conversations. Field trips to cultural institutions, campus visits, and community service activities provide mentees with expanded perspectives and aspirations. WYSE's success lies not just in the topics covered, but in the transformative power of consistent, caring mentorship. Together, mentors and mentees learn, grow, and build the confidence necessary to become leaders and advocates for positive change within their own communities and beyond.
Los Angeles, CA