NEWS

Selena Gomez Returns to School as a Mentor to Young Girls

“Today was an inspirational experience I will never forget.”


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Donato Sardella/Getty Images

Selena Gomez went back to school. This time, though, as a mentor. The actress celebrated World Kindness Day with Coach and a group of high school students in an effort to empower young women from underserved communities. Alongside Step Up (one of Coach’s national charity partners) and chief executive Victor Luis, Gomez attended events at two Los Angeles high schools to offer herself up as a mentor.

Gomez took to her much-followed Instagram to post a candid photo from the experience, captioning it “@instagram is celebrating world kindness day and I got to spend it with people who fully will change our world one day. @coach introduced me to @stepupwomensnetwork which is an after-school organization that encourages girls to believe that they have the capability to do anything they set their mind to. It’s crazy to me how much they are willing put others before themselves.”

Through her work with the brand as celebrity brand ambassador, Gomez does much more than just wear sheer dresses to leather jackets from the recently revitalized label, which got a CFDA nomination on Thursday for Stuart Vevers’ accessories work. In fact, she is deeply involved with the Coach Foundation, which the brand describes as a philanthropic initiative that has “to date granted more than $40 million to charities supporting women’s health, education for children in underserved communities, public parks and cultural programs in New York City, and disaster relief around the world.”

In addition to her charity work with the brand, Selena will be designing a yet-to-be-released piece for Coach’s fall 2017 collection.

“I am truly thrilled to be involved with Coach and their support of Step Up,” said Gomez in a statement. “Step Up’s mission to empower young women is personally important to me and something even more crucial in under-served communities. Working with the young women I met today was an inspirational experience I will never forget.”

Donato Sardella/Getty Images

It is a cause that is close to her heart, as her newest Netflix project, entitled Thirteen Reasons Why, is focused on the bullying young girls face. The singer has also recently re-entered the spotlight after taking a social media and public hiatus due to mental health issues.

She recently opened up to Vogue about it, saying, “I was depressed, anxious. I started to have panic attacks right before getting onstage, or right after leaving the stage.”

As a result, she began a 90-day program that involved both individual as well as group therapy, explaining, “You have no idea how incredible it felt to just be with six girls. Real people who couldn’t give two s—s about who I was, who were fighting for their lives. It was one of the hardest things I’ve done, but it was the best thing I’ve done.”

Related: Selena Gomez Might Be Eyeing a New Jewelry Project

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Selena Gomez arrives at the Teen Choice Awards 2009 held at the Gibson Amphitheatre on August 9, 2009 in Universal City, California.

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Selena Gomez arrives at the 2009 ALMA Awards at Royce Hall on the UCLA Campus on September 17, 2009 in Westwood, Los Angeles, California.

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Selena Gomez arrives at the People’s Choice Awards in Los Angeles, California on January 5, 2011.

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Selena Gomez arrives at Nickelodeon’s 23rd Annual Kids’ Choice Awards held at UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion on March 27, 2010 in Los Angeles, California.

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Selena Gomez attends the “Justin Bieber: Never Say Never” Los Angeles Premiere at Nokia Theatre L.A. Live on February 8, 2011 in Los Angeles, California.

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Selena Gomez arrives at The 53rd Annual GRAMMY Awards held at Staples Center on February 13, 2011 in Los Angeles, California.

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Selena Gomez arrives at the Vanity Fair Oscar party hosted by Graydon Carter held at Sunset Tower on February 27, 2011 in West Hollywood, California.

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Selena Gomez arrives at the 2011 American Music Awards held at Nokia Theatre L.A. LIVE on November 20, 2011 in Los Angeles, California.

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Selena Gomez arrives at Nickelodeon’s 24th Annual Kids’ Choice Awards at Galen Center on April 2, 2011 in Los Angeles, California.

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Selena Gomez attends the 2012 Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards at Galen Center on March 31, 2012 in Los Angeles, California.

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Selena Gomez arrives at the 2012 Vanity Fair Oscar Party at Sunset Tower on February 26, 2012 in West Hollywood, California.

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Selena Gomez arrives at the 2012 Teen Choice Awards at Gibson Amphitheatre on July 22, 2012 in Universal City, California.

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Selena Gomez arrives at the 2013 Billboard Music Awards at MGM Grand Hotel & Casino on May 19, 2013 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

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Selena Gomez attends the German premiere of ‘Spring Breakers’ at the cinestar Potsdamer Platz on February 19, 2013 in Berlin, Germany.

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Selena Gomez attends the 2013 Vanity Fair Oscar party at Sunset Tower on February 24, 2013 in West Hollywood, California.

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Selena Gomez attends the 2013 Teen Choice Awards at Gibson Amphitheatre on August 11, 2013 in Universal City, California.

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Selena Gomez attends the 2014 LACMA Art + Film Gala Honoring Barbara Kruger And Quentin Tarantino Presented By Gucci at LACMA on November 1, 2014 in Los Angeles, California.

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Selena Gomez arrives at the “Rudderless” – Los Angeles VIP Screening at the Vista Theatre on October 7, 2014 in Los Angeles, California.

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Selena Gomez arrives at the 2015 Vanity Fair Oscar Party Hosted By Graydon Carter at Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on February 22, 2015 in Beverly Hills, California.

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Selena Gomez attends the premiere of ‘Getaway’ presented by Warner Bros. Pictures at Regency Village Theatre on August 26, 2013 in Westwood, California.

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Selena Gomez attends the 2014 American Music Awards at Nokia Theatre L.A. Live on November 23, 2014 in Los Angeles, California.

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Selena Gomez attends the “China: Through The Looking Glass” Costume Institute Benefit Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 4, 2015 in New York City.

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Selena Gomez attends the 2014 Vanity Fair Oscar Party hosted by Graydon Carter on March 2, 2014 in West Hollywood, California.

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Selena Gomez arrives to the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards at Microsoft Theater on August 30, 2015 in Los Angeles, California.

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Selena Gomez attends 2015 Glamour Women Of The Year Awards at Carnegie Hall on November 9, 2015 in New York City.

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Selena Gomez arrives at The 58th GRAMMY Awards at Staples Center on February 15, 2016 in Los Angeles, California.

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Selena Gomez arrives at the 6th Biennial UNICEF Ball at the Beverly Wilshire Four Seasons Hotel on January 12, 2016 in Beverly Hills, California.

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Selena Gomez arrives at the 2015 American Music Awards at Microsoft Theater on November 22, 2015 in Los Angeles, California.

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Selena Gomez arrives at the 2016 Vanity Fair Oscar Party Hosted By Graydon Carter at Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on February 28, 2016 in Beverly Hills, California.

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