Learning Seminars

So, my first decision for the Ladies of Chinquapin is to have learning seminars that I feel will truly benefit the girls. We should have four of these seminars and each will focus on teaching about one of the following: Self Esteem, Sex, Success and Etiquette. I want to focus on these topics and have the ladies informed on how to have a higher self esteem, use protection, strive for their goals and act during formal events. Learning these skills are essential to their futures.

Self esteem is always a big issue with girls my age. I have problems with my self esteem all the time, and I know it will be a big help for girls to learn how to deal with their self esteem. Sex is a topic that many girls might be uncomfortable talking about, but it's very important that girls my age learn about using protection and having safe sex.

Not only do I want the girls to learn about personal issues, but about issues they may face in the future--more professional topics. In one of my previous posts I had a TEDTalk by Sheryl Sandberg and she discusses three obstacles women in the workplace face and how to overcome them. Our seminar on success should be similar to this. Another important factor of the professional world is networking. I know that I have no idea how to network, behave at formal events, or dress for the workplace. The etiquette session should address all of these things.

Now that it's decided what our informative seminars will be about, the next step is to find someone to lead these sessions. I would like to get in contact with someone that would be willing to volunteer to lead these seminars. However, if we can't find anyone, then Ale and I would be willing to try to lead them. The important thing, is that the ladies learn how to overcome any issues they are dealing with or might deal with and that they get questions answered here because they might not be able to talk to their parents about it.

The Reason

At Chinquapin, we used to have a club called Womans Group. It brought the older girls together and helped us to not feel as if we're alone. We found we shared similar problems and had the same insecurities. The girls in Womans Group were there for one another. Unfortunately, this club gradually disappeared. My classmate and I plan to bring this club back, but to make it even greater. It's going to be a place where older girls can learn to build their self-esteem, reach for their goals, and inform one another on different issues. It'll be a place for the girls to grow closer and try to better themselves along with their communities.

We expect to do a lot of research on what types of activities the group should do together. We want the girls to bond and have fun, but we also feel that they should learn skills that would be useful in the future. We'd like to take suggestions from the girls about what they would like to do. In the past years we had Career Days, took cooking classes and participated in open discussions. We learned that Young Womans Group took an etiquette class and had a book club; our club can do that, too. Since we'll be the older girls, we can discuss subjects that are more mature and important in our lives. We've been trying to get in contact with past teachers that were in charge of Woman's Group and Young Woman's Group to see how they organized they're events. We're hoping that they can help us get in contact with people that are willing to contribute to our club.

I believe that Alejandra Badillo and I are qualified to undertake this project because we were members of Woman's Group. Since we're seniors, it's our duty to look for ways to improve our community and have a positive influence on the other students. We know other teachers that were involved in this and we're motivated to bring this club back. However, we'd like to change the name to Ladies of Chinquapin. We'd like to create a new club that incorporates characteristics from Woman's Group and we're determined to create Ladies of Chinquapin for the older girls in our community.

Liszette Mariely Garcia, President and Founder.
Address:
8325 Bassett St.
Houston, TX 77051
Cell Phone Number: 832-622-4961
Blog: http://liszette2012.blogspot.com/
Website: http://www.wix.com/marielyatzell/ladiesofchinquapin

Planning it out

I thought this TEDWomen Talk from Sheryl Sandberg--the COO of Facebook--is kind of what we want Ladies of Chinquapin to be about. We'd like for the women in our community to strive to achieve their goals and not be afraid to speak out. Sandberg does a great job of explaining how women shouldn't undersell themselves, shouldn't let fears about the future deter them, and shouldn't be afraid to rely on their spouse.



I don't want Ladies of Chinquapin to revolve completely around business, but I think Sandberg has a lot to say about women in general--not just in the workplace. These are the type of ideals I'd like for Ladies of Chinquapin to teach.