In Hartford, there is a leadership institute dedicated to helping high school girls reach their unique and highest potential. It’s led by women in the capital city’s chapter of the nation’s oldest Black sorority.
In Hartford, there is a leadership institute dedicated to helping high school girls reach their unique and highest potential. It’s led by women in the capital city’s chapter of the nation’s oldest Black sorority.
Hartford Girls Rock! That’s the name of, and message behind, a special leadership program led by the members of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated’s Epsilon Omicron Omega chapter through the Foundation for Educational Opportunities.
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WATCH HERENow in its ninth year, the program brings together about a dozen teen girls from community organizations in the Hartford area including the YWCA, Ebony Horsewomen and the Urban League of Greater Hartford.
The girls spend four months in a leadership institute that’s led by members of the sorority, learning about themselves through workshops on public speaking, fitness and etiquette, civic engagement, social responsibility and more.
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SIGN UP “The goal is to make sure that they have the tools, the confidence, the connection to the community so that they can go forward and be great,” said Yasmin Blackburn, president of the Foundation for Educational Opportunities.
Chapter President Nyema Pinkney Cranford said Hartford Girls Rock is the sorority’s chance to invest in the women of tomorrow.
“This is an opportunity for us to grab the pearls that are closest to us, and to lift them up and collectively celebrate their amazing spirits and their determination and stories,” she said.
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Naimah Bailey is one of this year’s 11 Hartford girls who rock. The junior at Connecticut River Academy said she’s learned a lot about her own self value and the power that comes when you just believe - your dreams can be your reality.
“I learned it's good to be yourself and be who you are and embrace yourself. Because the only person that can control your life is going to be is you,” Bailey said.
To learn more about Alpha Kappa Alpha Epsilon Omicron Omega chapter, click here. For more information about the Foundation for Educational Opportunities, click here.
