To inspire young women to consider all options when planning their futures, Girls Incorporated at the YWCA Syracuse & Onondaga County recently held an all-day summit at Onondaga Community College to introduce girls to professional women from the community. “The goal of the workshops is to spark the girls’ spirit and trigger their imaginations so they can start considering new career options and opportunities they may have never thought about,” said YWCA Executive Director Joan Durant. The girls learned about non-traditional careers in police work and firefighting from Syracuse Police officer Victoria Barratta and Syracuse Fire Lieutenant Beth Cousins. Martial Arts instructor Theresa Rathbun showed the girls how teaching the Martial Arts can be a healthy hobby as well as a rewarding career. The girls also learned about money management and how to creatively give
back to their communities from financial consultant Barbara Spears,
fundraising data analyst Jessica Murray and community organizer Jessica
Maxwell.
In addition to a presentation about health careers by Shellie Armstrong,
a nurse practitioner in cardiology, the girls listened to a
self-improvement talk by school psychologist Dorothy Clark.