Summer Program Builds Confidence, Career Goals in Young Women

As hard a time as females have in the modern workplace, Terry Cavanaugh can remember when women didn't have many options in the way of employment.

"In '51, I couldn't be an underwriter because I am a woman," she said. "As a woman, you had to be either a nurse, school teacher or a housewife. If you did work, you did it until you got married and that was it."

For the past 11 years, Cavanaugh, a Towaco resident, has been a housemother for the Girls Career Institute. Described on its website as an annual program for high school junior girls to explore women's issues and encourage awareness in contemporary problems, the Montville women's club honored its five most recent delegates at its meeting last night.

Susan D'Agostino, Natalie Lazo, Sen-young Lee, Sara Mazzacaro and Megan Sullivan, all Montville Township High School seniors, were sponsored by the women's club to attend the 2009 GCI program, where the theme was "believe in yourself."

"I think these kids are great," Cavanaugh said. "It's a wonderful thing, and it really exposes girls to different opportunities, focusing on non-traditional career goals for women."

The program is billed on the State Federation of Women's Clubs website as a "taste of college life" for girls who are interested in college but might need extra encouragement. The program included career presentations from physicians, lawyers, engineers, teachers, creative arts and performing arts professionals. The program is offered to girls from all over the state.

The program had an impact on Mazzacaro, who left inspired to pursue a career in chiropractic therapy.

"I want to do something bigger, something that breaks the boundaries of what women do," she said, describing an experience where a chiropractor was able to repair someone's damaged arm.

Linda Peskin, membership chairperson for the women's club, sees the benefits of the program in both professional and personal terms.

"The exposure to unconventional female careers is a great opportunity, and it looks great on a college application, but I think the young ladies really blossom," she said. "They get a chance to meet young women from all over the state, which is an opportunity in itself. You start to see some real leadership skills."

Cavanaugh also praised the programs social aspect, saying that, as a pre-college experience, it prepares girls for a life away from home that could involve meeting new people.

"Every year at orientation, you have girls who come in and are 'I'm not going to make any friends here,'" she said. "By the end of the week, they're hugging and kissing and crying."

Susan D'Agostino said that, without the program, she might not have been able to address the women's club.

"GCI made me come out of my shell," she said. "It gave me a new outlook on college. At first, I was scared to go away, but now I'm not scared to talk to people."

The program was a confidence booster for Sen-young Lee, who was apprehensive about attending due to English being her second language.

"I've only been in the county for five years, my English isn't perfect," she said. " [GCI] taught me how to really believe in myself."

Cavanaugh said the changes in the girls are obvious.

"You should have seen these girls before the program," she said. "They were shy, now look at them."

She said that it all tied back into the program's theme of believing in oneself.

"We tell the girls two things at orientation," she said. "One is 'Be the change you want to see in the world.' The other is a story about frogs trying to climb a wall. They say 'You can't do that, you're a frog,' but the one that makes it to the top is the deaf one. Don't let anyone say 'you can't.'"