Point Park University's Student-Run Newspaper

Point Park Globe

Point Park University's Student-Run Newspaper

Point Park Globe

Point Park University's Student-Run Newspaper

Point Park Globe

Club empowers young girls

Every time a Strong Women Strong Girls (SWSG) group from Point Park speaks to an after-school program full of elementary school girls, they introduce them to a positive female role model in society.Every time, they encourage going to college.Every time, both young girls and mentors end up laughing.And every time, the girls have a hard time saying goodbye.“At the end of the day, they all give us giant big hugs begging us not to leave,” said Anna Rhodes, senior dance major and a mentor of SWSG. “I think that’s just the best part.”These women of SWSG are the students seen in bright pink booths offering bagels and coffee at 8 a.m. in the Academic Village on the first Wednesday of every month. The SWSG of Point Park University ask for donations each Wake Up Wednesday for supplies, field trips and snacks—all things that help them fulfill their mission of empowering elementary-school girls with new skills, strong role models and a female community.Essentially a mentoring program, SWSG is a relatively new organization, kicking off in 2000. It is established in Boston, Pittsburgh and South Florida. In the Pittsburgh area, Duquesne University, Carnegie Mellon University, Carlow University and the University of Pittsburgh also have chapters.For the first time in the few years that it existed on campus, the club, made up of about 18 girls, received funding from the United Student Government this semester. Also this semester, with help from Bruegger’s Bagels donations, the club raised about $300 for its cause at the Wake Up Wednesdays.The mentors are trained at the beginning of each semester with other SWSG chapters. They are required to follow a curriculum which teaches a set group of girls all in grades three through five who register for the after school program. The club currently sends mentors to four different sites, which include community buildings and schools, at different days and times, to teach young girls.The club experienced challenges along the way, especially when establishing a relationship with schools at the beginning of the semester.“Some of the sites that mentors go through are through Pittsburgh public school system and because of all the cuts that they’ve endured in the last year for their budget,” Lauren Vernail said. “They are really lacking any kind of stability and consistency…that’s a huge reason why some of the sites haven’t started as early as they would like to in this semester.” The biggest part of the curriculum is the weekly biography of a strong woman in society today or in the past. Past role models have been Wilma Rudolph, Annie Clark, Ashima Shiraishi and Audre Lorde. The mentors will introduce a different role model in each session, highlighting what she has done and how she has been successful. Afterward, an activity mirrors the strength talked about in the biography.“The bios we read aren’t necessarily older women,” Rhodes said. “One was a 7-year-old girl without hands –she still entered a handwriting contest. I think the girls need someone to look up to and need different role models.”Vernail, a senior intelligence major and SWSG financial coordinator said the role models are more relatable people than those the women seen on TV.“It’s kind of neat because they look up to us as college students, too,” Rhodes said. “And we tell them when you grow up you can go to college, you can major in whatever you want and be whatever you want. A lot of girls on their surveys are like, ‘I want to be doctors; I want to be vets.’ We try to tell them, ‘maybe you want to be those things but look at other things, too.’”At the end of the session, the girls are encouraged to write in their journals to reflect what they talked about. They also to ask the mentors questions, some of which include “do you know how to dougie?”Lessons this past semester had themes of determination, cultural sensitivity and critical thinking. One theme was unique talents where each mentor brought something to symbolize whatever they excel in. Some mentors brought pointe shoes and soccer balls, but one came with painted nails, teaching the girls that little talents mean just as much.“This past week was critical thinking as the main topic, and the bio was about a female scientists that specializes in space studies,” Vernail said, adding that the students were sharing related facts. “One 9-year-old knew what a black hole was. She was like, ‘it’s made of dead stars.’”Without the SWSG program, Danielle Stelzer, a senior psychology major and SWSG mentor, said some of the girls might lose their ambitions to try new things.“When they say this is something I want to do, we can be there to encourage it and interact with them about it,” Stelzer said. “Whereas if they just have it, and no one’s really paying attention to it, then they might just lose interest in it and forget about it.”Vernail said some home situations that the girls come from are “rough,” from looking at the surveys they fill out at the beginning of the semester.“Some of the other sites are not as fortunate,” Vernail said. “Within the first two weeks the little ones would come up to us and be like, ‘will you be our fake mom?’ And I don’t know if they really understood how big of a statement that is, but…it’s nice to know that you are such a positive influence in their lives because they might not have that all the time.”Rhodes, who got involved for the first time this semester, said initially the thought of mentoring seemed daunting, but the SWSG booklet taught them exactly how to run a lesson with experienced mentors by her side.Stelzer said the program is a great way for freshmen to find their way into their own accepting community.“It sort of gives you the same thing that you are trying to do for the girls,” Stelzer said. “If anyone is having a problem, you can bring it up at the meeting; it gives you a little support system, too.”

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