My interest in doing a photoshoot with the Sayles Girls was to highlight a small, relatively unknown BIPOC women’s group on campus. The Sayles Girls are a group of Black women and femmes from the Class of 2024 who share a common sisterly bond like no other. What started as a study group in Upper Sayles to maintain the academic standards of Carleton has since branched out into a beautiful support group for these BIPOC women on campus. The friends can be seen all around campus, still frequenting Sayles, but also working out of the Classics Library Lounge and the 1st and 3rd floors of Olin.

The Sayles Girls include first-year students Amira Aladetan, Mariam Zewdu, Lindsay Okindo, Hannah Ward, Grace Bassekle, Hala Shabaita, Taia Bush and Faith Agboola (not all pictured here). Many of the girls met over the summer break individually, before grouping up in WhatsApp chats and socially distanced meet-ups during Fall 2020. They’ve maintained a bond since then, and continue to nurture each other while navigating Carleton and other social groups.