Gianna Faddis, one of the National Leaders Collective’s Top Leaders, is a Thaddeus Stevens fellow attending Regina Caeli Academy in Arizona. Learn more about Faddis’s activism, in her own words, below.

 My name is Gianna Faddis, and I first became involved in the pro-life movement three years ago, when I decided to start the East Valley Students for Life group for my homeschool community. I learned so much as I got the group going, and last year, I decided to take my leadership to the next level by applying for Students for Life’s Thaddeus Stevens Fellowship. I was honored to be accepted and have grown so much during my time in the program. 

My favorite and most successful project was a two-part item drive event my group hosted to support moms in need that collected almost 8,000 diapers! We had food, games, prizes, and a raffle, and we collected baby item donations for our local pregnancy resource center. In the first part, which was in the fall, we had about 20 people come who generously donated a total of 600 diapers, 29 packs of wipes, and several other baby items.  

For our second part, the spring event, we received 7,000 diapers! It was incredibly rewarding to see several of our group members step up and put in hard work to make the event a success, despite all the roadblocks we faced along the way! Not only did this event allow us to support moms in need, but I believe it also inspired our members to take leadership in the pro-life movement in the future. 

I recruited members of my group to participate in a door knocking deployment before the election. We knocked on 500 doors to inform voters about Arizona’s Abortion Access Amendment and had many impactful conversations! We were all thankful for the opportunity to step out of our comfort zones and become more confident in our pro-life activism. The amendment unfortunately passed, transforming Arizona from one of the most pro-life states to one which allows abortion up to birth. This was a huge disappointment, but it inspired me to use my next two projects to help turn the tide in Arizona by weakening the abortion industry and supporting mothers in need. 

I led my group to host a Defunding Planned Parenthood Across America Life Chain at the Arizona State Capitol. We prayed, held signs, and chalked to demand that Planned Parenthood be defunded. We had more than 25 people attend and were able to cover the sidewalk in front of the Capitol with beautiful pro-life chalk messages.  

My time in the Thaddeus Stevens Fellowship made a huge impact on my leadership. I learned so much from my program leader, my mentor, the speakers on our calls, and the other students in my fellowship. I now have new insights on how to lead my group and how to prepare my group’s next leadership team as I transition out of high school and was given the tools I needed to persevere, despite the many challenges I faced this year in leading my group. I hope to continue my leadership in college next year, and I feel ready for whatever comes my way thanks to my experience in Thaddeus Stevens! 

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