Applying for the National Girls Collaborative Project (NGCP) 20th-Anniversary Fellowship was one of the best decisions I made in 2022. A week before applying, a friend suggested I research fellowship programs to enhance my professional development.  Just a few days later I received an e-mail from my mentor about NGCP's fellowship, I guess it was perfect timing.

I wasn't sure if I would be the best candidate. My background was heavily focused on small business development. Overcoming self-doubt, I applied. After some time passed, I was thrilled to learn I was accepted into the program. I was looking forward to meeting the other fellows and finding out where they're from, their backgrounds, and their career fields.  The fellowship also gave me a chance to learn more about the STEM industry and the barriers that females face. Part of the fellowship was reading different research papers and case studies that gave insight into the challenges that young black and brown girls face in school. One of my favorite readings was “Black girls speak STEM: Counterstories of informal and formal learning experiences” by Natalie S. King and Rose M. Pringle. Learning about how informal education can elevate STEM interest because the school system tends to be routine. The more insight I received from the different readings my passion to advocate for girls in stem started to grow more and more.

For my fellowship, I decided to work with the Youth Advisory Board because I just love working with kids. My experience on the Youth Advisory Board was very rewarding. I was introduced to bright educated young women that have ambition and want to excel in life. My project for the Youth Advisory Board was to give a monthly professional development series. Instead of telling the young ladies what I thought they needed to hear, my first encounter with the group was talking about my background and how I got to where I am in my career. Then I asked what topics you would like me to speak about. After listening to their feedback and I began to create different topics to speak on during our monthly meetings. The first topic I spoke about was building confidence because that was one of the big concerns the group had. This generation was born with the technology they had social media at their fingertips. Kelly who oversaw YAB expressed conversations she had with the ladies about how social media sometimes affects how they feel about themselves. As I got to know the group better my next topic was on creating goals. Some of the girls in on the board are seniors others are sophomores and juniors. They had a lot on their plates, so explaining how to create goals and implement an action plan I felt was necessary so they can create good habits. We also had a young entrepreneur in the group her name is Amanda. I was excited to learn that because I've taught entrepreneurship for over five years so it was fun teaching entrepreneurship to this group. My next few topics focus on developing business ideas and techniques for dealing with stress.  Speaking with the girls each month for an hour and learning about the successes and the challenges that they're facing give me a better understanding that kids go through things that adults may not take time to realize.  Being part of the board made me confident that the future is going in the right direction. Being a part of the Youth Advisory Board helped in my professional development. Being able to connect with kids and teach different topics on the monthly basis without slides increased my confidence.  YAB gave me another reason to advocate for girls in STEM. It's interesting how your life can change in nine months, before the fellowship I was struggling with my identity of always being looked at as an entrepreneurship person. Granted I love teaching small business classes but there's more to me. NGCP's 20th-anniversary fellowship program allowed me to tap into the other parts of myself and for that, I'm thankful for this fellowship.