People Behind BIO | Sarah Nupdal

Sarah Nupdal

BIO Girls Board of Directors,
Director

Continuing with our blog series, People Behind BIO we have Sarah Nupdal! Sarah cares deeply about her family, bringing the many lessons she has learned from BIO Girls home!

What is your connection to BIO Girls?

Board Member.

How long have you been involved with BIO Girls?

Since the fall of 2019!

What drew you to become involved with BIO Girls?

I was in the United Way of Cass-Clay's 35 Under 35 Women’s Leadership Program in 2019. Through that, I got connected with Missy Heilman (BIO Girls Executive Director) and Jenna Gilbertson-Steiner (Board of Director's Chair) and we met over coffee. It was an instant connection of friendship! They were looking for a new board member and I knew it was right up my alley! 

The BIO Girls mission is "To improve the self-esteem of adolescent girls through empowerment of self and service to others." How do you resonate with the mission?

This is something I, like many of us, struggled with as a child, as a teen, and even into adulthood. Things like having low self-esteem or thinking that society has a certain expectation of us as women: you have to look a certain way or weigh a certain something. It has taken me a long time to break down those barriers.

I have a 4-year-old daughter and my goal for her is that she doesn't go through that, that she doesn't feel that she's not worth it because she's a certain size, or her hair is a certain color, or her skin is a different color. Any of those things that were barriers to me growing up. I want to break that cycle. We do affirmations every morning. We face the mirror and say things like "I'm strong, I'm beautiful, I'm brave, and I'm kind." I just want her to realize that her self worth isn't based on any number of things. That's exactly what BIO Girls tries to instill to everyone that goes through the program. I can't wait until my daughter is old enough to learn these things from someone other than me. It truly takes a village, and I think BIO Girls plays a unique role in that village for these girls that are in that program. 

Do you have an impact story from your involvement with BIO Girls?

Seeing the 5K this year had an impact on me. Seeing that process of us being so excited to host our own 5K, it was going to be incredible, and then being in the middle of the pandemic and making it a virtual event. We were asking ourselves, "Oh no, are we going to get enough people to attend? What does this look like? What does this mean?” We still wanted to make this experience special.

Seeing everyone posting race photos on social media, amidst everything else that's going on, I think that truly shows the reach that BIO Girls. Regardless of people having to run the race on their own, it still had that large of an impact. This event really brought my volunteering full circle. To volunteer my time and make this kind of impact is so awesome.

What is your favorite part of being on the BIO Girls board?

Being a part of something that is so much bigger than yourself.

Name one-way BIO Girls has impacted you personally. 

BIO Girls has given me more tools to positively impact my daughter and myself. You hear a lot of mentors saying, "Not only am I teaching these girls about certain skills, or talking to them about issues, but I am also learning, and it is having an impact on me", I feel that too.

I don't think you ever stop growing in that area, increasing your self-esteem, loving yourself, or being kind. You can't put a cap on the things that BIO Girls teaches, the impact is continuous.

What are your main roles on the BIO Girls board?

I have a legal background, and I am an attorney by trade. I am able to provide that legal advice or guidance, whether we are negotiating a lease or talking about different liability issues, I can bring that to the table. 

If you could have one superpower what would it be?

To take the hurt away from my loved ones.

As we get older, more and more bad things happen. When your kiddos, your friends, or your parents are experiencing a hard time, I just wish I could go “Okay you’re hurting and I’m replacing that with the best thing in the world”.  

If you could go back in time, what year would it be and why?

1. I would go back to the year 1998, because both of my grandmas were alive. I would spend the day hanging out with them and appreciating them much more than I did then. 

2. I would go back to 2008, the year I met my husband, and enjoy that initial time more which we totally took for granted.  

Thank you, Sarah, for your dedication to the mission we have at BIO Girls. We are so grateful to have an advocate like you!