Climbing up the stairs of Marino Recreation Center to the weightlifting floor can be daunting, especially for women at Northeastern. However, a new club on campus is working persistently to make it seem a little more approachable. 

Meet EMPOWER, Northeastern’s all-women weightlifting club, designed to make women feel more confident and comfortable in the weightroom. As their motto reads, “The third floor of Marino isn’t as scary as you think.”

Gabriela Salerno and Lizel Fehr co-founded EMPOWER in January 2022, and although they are still waiting to be recognized as an official club on campus, they have grown immensely since their first meeting. 

“There didn’t seem to be a great community that focused on women going to the gym,” said Fehr, a third-year business administration major. “We need to band together, especially in a space where it can be hard to be confident.” 

Alongside their weekly club meetings, EMPOWER provides their members with fun and informative events and activities, such as Sunday group lifts in Marino and guest speaker events where they can learn more about weightlifting, diets and even how their menstrual cycles can affect their weightlifting sessions. 

“We have merch, we have events outside of Northeastern, we really want to drive our mission statement which is empowering women in the gym and empowering their minds, their souls and their bodies,” Fehr said.The club’s Instagram has gained over 500 followers since its launch post in January 2022, and more and more people have come to the meetings and expressed passion and interest for EMPOWER. 

Andrea Ip, a second-year business administration major, is EMPOWER’s social media manager. She said Instagram has been a main contributor to the club’s growth, and the club receives several direct messages each day from beginners who want to get involved but don’t know how.

“If we didn’t have an Instagram it would be a lot harder. We’ve done flyers, but they don’t reach as many people as social media,” Ip said.

“It has just been so surreal and amazing to watch this grow,” Fehr said. “When we first started this, I thought in my head, ‘No one is going to come to this meeting.’” 

Salerno, Fehr’s co-founder, feels their members have gained more confidence since joining the club, and it has put them in the position to do much bigger things. 

“I always say I view EMPOWER as a gateway drug,” said Salerno, a third-year criminal justice and political science combined major. “You start here and you learn here.”

Salerno and Fehr also believe that EMPOWER itself will grow into something bigger than Northeastern and bigger than the both of them. 

“There are students at BU and students at Suffolk who have all expressed interest in EMPOWER,” Salerno said. 

Even further, Salerno feels the EMPOWER brand has the potential to be nationally recognized in the future. 

The co-founders also touched on the importance of expanding their message and mission beyond women weightlifters.

“I think building confidence in women in the gym is something everyone everywhere is trying to do,” Fehr said. “We do have co-ed meetings because it’s all information that everyone should take in.” 

Alongside weightlifting tips and tricks, EMPOWER’s weekly meetings also focus heavily on the balance between exercise and nutrition to balance a healthy lifestyle. Maddie Edwards, a third-year political science and criminal justice combined major, is in charge of the nutrition portion of EMPOWER’s meetings. 

“I think that a lot of girls dive into these sort of fad diets or try to restrict themselves as much as possible, and I’m a huge advocate for everything in moderation,” Edwards said. “I wanted to be able to bring the knowledge that I have learned to other people that are looking to improve their lifestyles.”

EMPOWER has strived to create a supportive and safe environment for the women in their club, as well as in Marino itself. Their executive board and members believe they have succeeded in doing so. 

“It’s really significant to me, having such a support group,” said Chloe Zenker, a second-year biology major and co-executive officer of EMPOWER. “It’s awesome just to see people who enjoy fitness as much as I do.”