The incredible effort from the 1,500 Students for Life of America (SFLA) groups nationwide in 2024 fuels our excitement for all we can accomplish in 2025. Look back at 2024’s Groups of the Year, their plans for their award funds, and the strategies to protect and enthusiasm for the preborn these groups bring into 2025.  

READ: Students for Life of America Announces the 2023 – 2024 Group of the Year Award Winners 

East Valley Students for Life: Best High School Group of the Year 

When there’s a will, there’s a way for this high school SFLA group, East Valley Students for Life.  

This past year, East Valley Students for Life at Regina Caeli Academy in Phoenix, Arizona, raised enough money for eleven students to attend the 2025 Pro-Life March in Washington, D.C.  

Locally, they did plenty of sidewalk chalking and baby bottle wrapping with their local Aid to Women Centers. At the beginning of the year, seven of their members assisted in setting up a gala for the Aid to Women Centers. 

Over the past two years, the group has continued to grow, with 25 students and counting. As they look towards next year with pride and fulfillment in all they’ve accomplished, they look forward to more door-knocking, tabling, and literature dropping on people’s doors.  

UNC-Chapel Hill Students for Life: College Group of the Year 

Students for Life at UNC-Chapel Hill (UNC-CH) deserve recognition as SFLA’s College Group of the Year.  

To create a culture of Life on campus, they took on one of their most challenging and rewarding endeavors: founding the Student-Parent Association. The group’s goal and central pillar was to make UNC-Chapel Hill welcoming and more friendly towards pregnant and parenting students, and the Student-Parent Association allowed us to achieve this goal.  

They used the funds earned to get the Student-Parent Association up and running. It was a bunch of small steps that added up to something great. First, they started with a “Parent Pizza Party.” The group invited pregnant and parenting students on campus to a meeting where they could discuss the joys and challenges of parenting while in college and get to know other students in the same position. Funds were also used to purchase welcome gifts for parents and coloring books for their children and provide a meal at the meeting.   

Additionally, UNC-CH Students for Life polled the parents about some of the resources they have found helpful and some areas where support is lacking and needs improvement.  

Their second meeting was even more successful. They provided a private pasta dinner for parenting students, bringing in Dr. Catherine Riley, author of Title IX and the Protection of Pregnant and Parenting College Students. They had a Friendsgiving potluck meeting at their last meeting of the year.  

As the Student-Parent Association grows, the group is excited to use its funds for more uplifting events for parenting students. One of the local pregnancy resource centers we partner with offers H.O.P.E. classes. These are parenting classes for their clients taught by local professionals, but at each class, the community provides a meal for the parents. This allows the parents to connect with the other clients as they focus on building their ability to be their best parents.  

This semester, they look forward to using the remainder of the funds to sponsor a H.O.P.E. meal. The group members will purchase the ingredients with the funds, cook a meal together, and deliver it to the H.O.P.E. class.  

Florida International University Students for Life: Standing With You Group of the Year Award 

The 2024 Standing With You Group of the Year winner, Students for Life at Florida International University, used their money to support a local mom.  In the summer of 2024, the group won the Standing with You Group of the Year award. As a reward, they received $200 to spend however they wanted as a group. They decided to buy diapers for “Amy,” an expecting mom at FIU.    

It was a shock when Amy found out she was pregnant last spring. At the time, she was only a junior at FIU, making huge strides towards her career. A baby was not in her plan. She felt confused, nervous, and unsure about what to do. But she knew there was a life growing inside of her.  
  
She decided to tell her mom first. After all, she had four children, so she would know what to do.  

Amy recalled her mom’s words. “Amy, honey. Ultimately, what you do is your choice; you are your own person. But I’m telling you, if you get an abortion, you will regret it for the rest of your life. But if you decide to be a mom, I will support you every step of the way.”  
  
With that, Amy felt at ease. Knowing her mom was there to support her significantly boosted her confidence. Amy got more excited about being a mom and started making plans for her last year of college, how to balance it with being pregnant and eventually welcoming a new baby, who was due on Christmas Day.  
  
She met with advisors at FIU and explained her situation. They were accommodating and planned for additional flexibility in her schedule. She could still attend in-person classes but could do work online if she needed to participate in prenatal appointments or the event of an early delivery.  
  
Amy also met with one of her supervisors at work to inform her that she was pregnant and would need more flexibility in her schedule. She hoped she would confide in her, as she was still in shock and uncertain about the future.  

“You’re pregnant?” her boss said. “And you’re keeping it?”  
  
Other students were also judgmental. Amy dreaded growing a baby bump. She didn’t want anyone to treat her differently or give her weird looks.  

As Amy returned to campus for the fall semester, she was nervous about balancing a full course load, a part-time job, and preparing for a baby. Luckily, she soon got some help. She shared the news of her pregnancy with a friend, who recommended contacting the Students for Life group on campus. Amy discovered the group’s events schedule and that they were tabling on campus during the first week of school.  
  
Mia Akins and Jazmin Casco, National Leaders Collective (NLC) fellows, tabled at the library, talking to students about abortion and the upcoming election. Amy approached their table and looked at the fetal models.  

LEARN MORE: National Leaders Collective

“Which baby is the size at 24 weeks?” Amy asked.  
  
Akins showed her the models and handed her the 22-week model. “A little bigger than this baby.”  
  
“Really? That’s so cool! I ask because… I’m 24 weeks pregnant right now. I was told you guys (Students for Life) might help me.”  

 
Akins and Casco hugged and congratulated Amy, and they were happy they were connected. They exchanged contact information and gave Amy brochures for local Pregnancy Help Centers (PHCs).   

For the rest of the semester, Students for Life at FIU met with Amy regularly and helped her prepare to welcome her baby. The group even hosted an item drive, collecting hundreds of diapers, wipes, and onesies.  
  
The group decided to use their Standing with You Group of the Year award to help out Amy. They initially had considered using the funds for new tabling materials or snacks for a group party. But they figured it was most fitting that the award they got for being an Outstanding Standing with You group would go to support a pregnant student.  

LEARN MORE: Standing With You  
   

They ordered boxes of wipes and diapers from EveryLife, a pro-life diaper brand, and gifted them to Amy. On December 29, 2024, Amy welcomed “Liam”, a beautiful baby boy. Amy plans to graduate in the spring of 2025. Baby Liam inspires Amy to keep working hard towards her career.  

Our Lady of Guadalupe Students for Life: Best New Group of the Year 

Our Lady of Guadalupe Students for Life was overjoyed at the announcement of winning Best New Group of the Year in June at the National Leaders Collective Kick-off Weekend and is excited to continue fighting for life for the rest of this school year.  

Our Lady of Guadalupe Students for Life award funds towards their first-ever Rose Bud Gala. This event had the dual purpose of raising money for the group’s efforts and recruiting new students to join the club by building excitement for the pro-life movement. The night began with light refreshments while the group heard from two excellent speakers, SFLA Spokesperson and Strategic Partnership Advisor Lydia Taylor Davis and Dr. Bill Pincus, President of North Carolina Right to Life. Davis encouraged students to become more involved in the movement and not passively stand by while lives were being taken. During Dr. In Bill Pincus’ speech, students learned some pro-life apologetics and how to defend their pro-life beliefs. After hearing from our excellent speakers, student attendees could enjoy a ‘Life is Sweet, So Love It!’ dessert bar and participate in a ‘Life Rocks’ dance party.  

The students enjoyed Our Lady of Guadalupe’s Rose Bud Gala, were refreshed in their efforts, and were encouraged to continue fighting for life throughout the rest of the school year. Our Lady of Guadalupe Students for Life is very grateful to have been able to put on this event, and they can’t wait until they have it again next year. 

READ NEXT: In the New Pro-Life Era, Students for Life of America Student Hannah Lape Will Speak for the Preborn at National Pro-Life March