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Leadership Academy Continues
Actively Mentoring Local Girls
By Tricia Hall
Sojourner’s Truth Reporter
The
Linnie B. Willis Girls’ Leadership Academy sponsored a
weekend of training entitled, “Leadership through Social
Media,” from July 10-12, 2015 on the campus of the
University of Toledo.
“I saw
enthusiasm with these young ladies and the presenters were
excellent. The one moment that stood out the most was the
speech given by a young lady,” said Linnie Willis, executive
director of Lucas Metropolitan Housing Authority. “She’s
the product of public housing, and currently an educator in
the Cincinnati Public Schools system. Last night at dinner
she told her story and spoke about growing up in public
housing and about her life in general. Her story was
inspiring. I want each of our young ladies to know that they
can achieve greatness too.” |
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Immediately following the Friday parents’ orientation, the
participants interacted with each other, academy volunteers
and community leadership while discussing various topics.
The topics included: social media and computers, iPad,
photography, divine minds workshop, business attire fashion
shows, self-image, leadership and learning styles, community
service and volunteerism, internet scams and fellowship
among each participant.
“This
weekend at the academy we continued our workshops on the
seven habits of highly effective teens,” said Audrey
Johnson, facilitator. “Today we worked on mission
statements, some of the girls even sang their mission
statements, self expression is really important. I have been
in the business of mentorship for 25 years. It’s valuable to
teach young ladies how to become leaders and equip them with
necessary tools, because these ladies are our future and
need to learn the skills from someone.”
The final
project of the weekend was a team presentation displayed
using iPad technology. The five-minute presentation required
researching a topic and speaking from all team members.
Six of
the teams, comprised of the 2015 participants, researched
the organization’s purpose, services provided, value for
women and children, volunteer opportunity for academy
participants, and photos for the following community
agencies: Hashtag Lunchbag, School Girls United, The
Daughter’s Project, Cherry Street Mission, Humane Society,
and Ten Charities.
The 2014
participants created a Girls’ Leadership Academy Facebook
page. The page featured participant mission statements, and
photos. The group also explained the importance of social
media etiquette: be positive, use appropriate pictures,
respect each other, don’t cyber bully people, and more.
“The
leadership conference for the 2015 girls has been another
outstanding academy, and event for the girls who learned a
great deal. All of our speakers were fantastic, “said
Ardenia Jones Terry.
The
featured speakers were: Candice Harrison, Toledo Zoo
communications director; Audrey Johnson, Achieve Academy
counselor; Cecelia Adams, PhD, Toledo City Councilwoman;
Linnie Willis; Natalie Lanese, Siena Heights University
director and assistant professor of arts; Yvonne Harper,
Toledo District 4 Councilwoman; Kimberly Alexander, Apple
MacCafe Sales and Training; Anita Lopez, Lucas County
Auditor; Zonta Club of Toledo; Linda Whittington-Clark, PhD,
Whittington-Clark Associates psychologist; Janis Weber, Ohio
Computing; Dawnetta Hayes, National Geographic’s Grosvenor
Fellow; Desiree Carnes, former Scott High School counselor;
Kimesha Williams, Glass City Hustlers and Paula
Hicks-Hudson, mayor City of Toledo.
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