Newton Students at 'Empowering Girls' 2015 Conference

Newton, MA -- Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan and Middlesex Partnerships for Youth hosted more than 350 students from middle and high schools, including the Jackson School in Newton, across Middlesex County at this year’s “Empowering Girls 2015” conferences held at The Broad Institute in Cambridge. This year’s conference focused on the theme “Curate Your Life: Creating Your Own Story,” encouraging girls to use curation to help identify their strengths and assets to determine their own trajectory to success -- now and in the future, said the announcement.

Designed to build confidence, goal setting and self assertion, the conference features speakers and interactive presentations. The participating girls reflected on their lives and analyzed what they doing well, and what could be improved. Speakers highlighted their own personal successes to inspire the students.

During a breakout session, students also created a storyboard that used what they learned about curation, the young women writing a letter to themselves to preserve in a time capsule.

“The objective of Empowering Girls is to encourage young women to think positively about themselves, to embrace what makes them unique and to use those traits to achieve their goals,” said District Attorney Ryan in a statement. “This year’s theme was really special because the participants got to listen to the personal stories of some very positive female role models and then reflect on that and learn how to tell the story of their own life.”

Students who attended the events represented schools from across Middlesex County, including Arlington, Arlington School in Belmont, Assabet Valley, Bedford, Everett, Greater Lowell Technical High School, Hudson, Jackson School of Newton, Malden, Nashoba Valley Technical High School, Natick, Somerville, St. Raphael School of Medford, Valley Collaborative, Wakefield, Watertown, Winchester and Woburn.

Photos and information provided by the office of the Middlesex District Attorney