As Dr. Jametta Davis talks to a group of middle-school aged girls she engages each one as they sit around a series of tables on the second floor of the Elizabeth City State University Ridley New Student Center. Davis is talking to them about self-esteem building self-confidence and building confidence in one another.
“If your friend is having a problem what are some of the things you can do to help her?” Davis asks the girls.
This is Camp Empower 2017 hosted by ECSU and conducted by C.H.A.N.G.E. Enterprises Inc. ECSU’s radio and television stations WRVS-FM 89.9 and W18BB-TV have partnered with C.H.A.N.G.E. Enterprises Inc. to present the camp to 6th and 7th grade girls. The three-day camp provides a unique opportunity for girls to explore the ideas and concepts of leadership team building and self-empowerment.
As Davis moves around the table the girls raise their hands eager to answer her question. One girl suggests taking her friend to Applebee’s. Another simply suggests that they talk. Whatever their answers the girls are engaged in the solution and Davis’s tone and enthusiasm coaxes the pre-teens along interjecting an excitement that draws them into the conversation.
The girls will go through a series of events and exercises designed to instill in them a sense of empowerment and determination.
Their day begins at 8:30 a.m. with breakfast. In their first session on Monday the girls discussed the importance of self-worth in a session called “Who Do YOU Think You Are?”
Later in the morning they moved onto a session called “Mirror Mirror on the Wall.” It was here where they discussed self-esteem and confidence building.
Later in the day they would break for exercise and move onto sessions about women in leadership roles and business life goals and dreams and a dream board party. A dream board is an exercise designed to let the girls visualize their personal dreams by creating a board with images they can refer to for inspiration.
Throughout the three day event the girls will hear from a number of accomplished women. These role models and the messages they convey are there to empower the next generation of young women perhaps some who are future ECSU Vikings.
