We love to go to the FWSO!

Tito Puente Jr. lit up the stage at the Fort Worth Symphony’s “Concerts in the Garden” last month.  Girls Inc. members had the privilege of attending this electrifying show of latin jazz and salsa. 

Tito Puente Jr. signs autographs for the girls.

Before the show, the girls were invited backstage to meet Mr. Puente.  He welcomed the girls and greeted each one individually.  He smiled, laughed and answered all of their questions with enthusiasm and humor.  He took pictures with the girls and autographed a postcard for each one of them. 

The girls returned to their seats, but only for a moment.  Tito Puente Jr. took the stage and encouraged the audience to dance to the beat of his drums and to move to the rhythm of the band.  The girls loved the music and danced for the duration of the concert.  It was an evening they will never forget. 

Girls holding their autographed postcards.

The chance to attend shows like this would not be possible without the support of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra.  This spring the girls attended a concert which featured guest conductor Maestro Mei-Ann Chen who is “one of the most dynamic young conductors in America.”  She is an expert in a field that is traditionally dominated by men.  It was an honor for the girls to meet her and see her on stage. 

We are grateful for the FWSO!  Thank you for giving our girls these incredible opportunities.   

Girls pictured with Maestro Mei Ann Chen

"Chemistry behind beauty"

The “Chemistry behind Beauty” Summer SMART camp was held at the University of Texas at Arlington and was sponsored by Chesapeake Energy.

On the first day of camp, UTA Staff, Ms. Norma took the girls on a tour of the university campus. Seeing the large beautiful campus was inspiring.

Attending summer camp at a college campus has many benefits.  What made this camp special was that the girls had access to the UTA Chemistry and Physics lab. They had the opportunity to experience what it is like to be a scientist. They used lab equipment such as a hot stove, beakers, aprons, gloves, goggles, and chemicals to make lotion. They got to wear lab coats, protective eye wear and gloves. 

 

At Camp, the girls learned how to make lip gloss, a face mask and ice cream using liquid Nitrogen.  The girls had so much fun participating in these activities and learning about the strategic process of making each product.  After their experience at SMART camp, some of the girls expressed their interests in becoming a scientist!  

This was a rewarding experience for the girls.  Many of them realized that science is fun and that it would be an exciting career to pursue. 

 

Many thanks to Dr. Winters, Ms. Cole TJ, Cuong, Dr. Cleaver and the staff at UTA for making this a memorable week for our girls.  The girls were grateful to be able to participate in this learning experience with you all!

Guest blog - Elizabeth volunteers at SMART Camp

I am Elizabeth, an undergraduate student at the University of North Texas. I am majoring in Psychology and will be graduating this December. I was inspired to volunteer with youth after taking a Play Therapy course at school. I was very fortunate to stumble upon Girls Inc. via a job shadowing program that UNT held this spring. 

After that experience, I was eager to sign up for more volunteering. For two weeks I worked alongside Girls Inc. staff, volunteers, and some of the high school-aged girls at the “Geek Girls” SMART camp held at the Diamond Hill Branch Library in Fort Worth. We encouraged the girls to pursue a greater appreciation and knowledge of the science, math and technology fields. 

I will admit I was a little apprehensive about leading the groups of girls at first. Would they like me? Would I be able to teach them anything? Would they have fun at all? As the first week quickly sped by in a blur, I realized I had nothing to worry about at all.

Throughout the week, the girls disassembled electronics to view their inner workings.  They also had to create a “SMART Girl” which was a hypothetical career woman.  This involved research on the part of the girls.  

I was amazed at how each girl shared what she had found in her smashed electronic device and strongly voiced what she believed it did for it. I laughed alongside the more talkative younger girls as we made aromatic, yet delicious Rice Krispy Treats in the microwave. Silliness aside, they were able to name the measuring utensils and follow directions. 

I taught the older girls how a webpage was made using HTML codes and even showed them how to make hyperlinks to their favorite websites. It was quite dense material but I felt they had a good grasp of the information presented. They had a lot of fun learning how to add pictures and links to a page. I was proud of their perseverance. 

I was deeply touched by how welcoming these two groups of girls were of new comers. The compassion and encouragement these girls had for each other was astounding. The girls were very eager to give a helping hand to their friends and even the adults without specifically being asked. I remember on the last day, one of the girls was standing alone in front of the room when the time came to present her project.  Seeing her expression of fear, two of her friends immediately jumped up to help give her moral support and she was able to continue on. 

I was quite saddened when SMART camp came to a close. Surprisingly I learned quite a bit about myself from these two groups of girls. I was a role model to the younger girls. I was able to encourage them when they got stuck on a task. I found out I can teach others what I know. Sometimes it’s okay not to know what the answer is to everything, but to always ask questions in order to learn. I enhanced my listening whilst helping the girls with their activities. I learned that patience is a must and to never give up on any goal. I feel all these characteristics are crucial to being an effective counselor. More importantly I feel these skills are beneficial for everyone to have. I cannot thank Girls Inc. enough for allowing me to share these experiences with these amazing girls.            

Lions, and tigers and ... animals, oh my!

“This was the best camp I have ever been to!” 

“I wish it would last all summer!” 

These are just a few quotes from some of the girls who attended the Animal Science SMART Camp held at the Shepherd of Life Lutheran Church in Arlington.  The girls learned about different animal habitats such as the tundra, forest, wetlands, deserts, and grasslands.  The girls also participated in an interesting activity about barn owls.  The girls learned about what foods they like to eat, the food web they are a part of, their habitats and their anatomies. Once the lesson was finished the girls dissected owl pellets, which was truly a unique experience for all of them.

One afternoon, Peggy Brown from the Humane Society of North Texas spoke to the girls about taking care of domestic animals. The girls had so many interesting questions about what foods were okay to feed their dogs and the appropriate ways to speak to animals. They learned that avocados, grapes and foods high in fat can cause health problems for dogs.   Wow! 

The week concluded with a trip to the Fort Worth Zoo where the girls enjoyed seeing a variety of live animals. They even got a chance to pet a snake!  

Many, many thanks to Chesapeake Energy for sponsoring this camp!  We also appreciate the volunteers and interns who helped us make this possible and a special thank you to the Shepherd of Life Lutheran Church in Arlington for providing us with the space to host this camp.  We are grateful for all of your support!

...and ACTION!

Ever wonder about the “Science Behind Weather”?  Our girls did and they had the opportunity to take part in some exciting educational activities at the NBC Studio in Fort Worth. The girls ate breakfast with news anchor Deborah Ferguson and got to meet anchor Lindsay Wilcox and Meteorologist Remeisha Shade.  The girls engaged in inspiring conversations and learned how these extraordinary women became involved in this profession.  The women emphasized the importance of having a solid education with a strong background in science and math.   

The girls were then given a tour of the NBC studio and were able to watch the news cast live right inside the studio. It was exciting! The news cast concluded with the Girls Inc. girls being introduced as guests and were shown live on television. 

Thank you Time Warner and NBC for giving our girls the opportunity learn about what you do.  At the end of the trip, many girls expressed their interests in learning more about math, technology and the “Science Behind Weather”.