Leadership Workshops for Tartan High School Students Empower Young Women

African American and Asian American young women got the opportunity to participate in a leadership workshop that took place last week. 

Sixty-three students were released from class on Thursday to join one of two workshops at , one for African American students and the other for Asian American students. 

Leadership and U.S. history teacher Ann Gerding used grant money to hold the second year of workshops for the students. Sister and event planner, Kelly Thurmes and friend and social worker, Jada Sanders, both Tartan graduates, joined her for the workshops. 

“I love relating to the students and seeing them grow," Sanders said.
"We will never know the impact, necessarily, but we have to trust that taking time out for yourself and building your confidence will shape your future."

The idea of the workshop is to bring joy to the girls' lives, Gerding said.

"Joy is something you create in your lives; you develop skills and relationships that will bring you happiness," she said. "We separate them by ethnicity because we believe that when you isolate a group of people by gender or ethnicity it allows them to engage in conversations that they would otherwise be afraid of speaking about in other situations. That is why we created this program."

A lot of the girls who participated have the skills to be potential leaders, said Kim Moore of Tartan’s Black Student Union.

The students participated in a variety of activities that exercised personal reflection, goal setting, teamwork and self-expression. Each student wrote a poem about herself, which was folded into a group project. They scratched the surface and created a story of who they are through smells, places, people, common things, pictures, values and role models.   

They also worked together on an obstacle course game that challenged their judgment, thinking skills and problem solving. In groups of three, one girl was blindfolded while the other two verbally pulled the girl in different directions.  Group reflections after the exercise led the girls into a whirlwind of discussion about peer pressure, stereotypes, high school life and decision-making. 

“It’s OK to be different, but you have to accept people for who they are,” Odessey Sawyer said.

“Life can get confusing, but it’s all about being comfortable and confident with who you are,” Nailah Whitlock added.

The students thanked the three leaders at the conclusion of the workshop for the experience. 

“It was great to interact with students in other grades," said Paja Yang. "The most important thing I learned today was trust.  Learning to trust myself and the people around me better has been a valuable lesson."

According to Sanders, the Workshops are growing successfully and the three women are excited to take it to new levels in the coming years.