Gabriella Barratt

Student Speaker

Hi! My name is Gabriella Barratt Heitmann, and I am currently a junior at the International School of Panama.

Though I am American, I was originally born in Bahrain, and since then I have lived in six different countries, including Zambia, Madagascar, Cameroon, DR Congo, the US, and Panama.

I’ve always been interested in human rights issues, likely because I grew up around extreme wealth inequality and poverty and saw the effects of inequality on people. As a young girl, gender equality was always important to me because I grew up with three brothers, and I wanted to do everything they were able to do. Luckily, I had several strong women (and men) in my life who allowed me to reach my full potential, but my friends weren’t always as lucky and would share their stories with me. So feminism only seemed natural to me, and I’ve been proud to label myself as one since I was first introduced to it in fourth grade