Mentoring future Women Making Moves

For the past five years, I've had the honor of mentoring a group of high school girls through the Delta GEMS (Growing and Empowering Myself Successfully) program, which is an initiative through my sorority, Delta Sigma Theta. The program is designed for young women between the age of 14 to 18 years old to "catch the dreams of African-American at-risk, adolescent girls." Whenever I read the program's mission, it hits me the impact I have on their lives.

I begin working with the group when I relocated to New York from Louisiana. Twice per month, myself and a committee of three other members of my sorority, lead the program participants in community service activities, SAT prep, cultural field trips, and goal setting. And this is just a sample of the activities we conduct. I'm a big believer in mentoring and "reaching back as I climb." I've been blessed to have a number of positive role models from my mother to my aunts and sisters. Others have not been as fortunate. But I should point out that most of the young women in the program come from households that require as much, if not more from them, than I do.

While I never feel the time I volunteer is enough, I'm thankful I get the opportunity to do the little I can. One of my favorite quotes is "few burdens are heavy when everyone lifts." If we all take this mentally, the idea of mentoring will become second nature, a wish I'm hoping becomes reality.

Women, start making your Moves today!