High school junior, Manuella, has been a part of Girls Group since November of 2020 after her sister, who has been a part of Girls Group for eight years, encouraged her to join. Manuella has made Girls Group a significant part of her life. She attends weekly in-school group programs, Year-Round Enrichment Programs, and Summer Programs.
Manuella says she was motivated to join Girls Group because we offered programs and resources that her school did not. It also offered a chance to go to new places and talk to people outside of her bubble.
Manuella is well liked and respected by mentors and Girls Group staff, more importantly, her peers, and fellow Girls Group participants. New and younger participants look up to her for guidance and she is always ready to help and give them a confidence boost. She is empathic, understanding, and reliable. Traits, she said, she models after Girls Group mentors.
In her time at Girls Group, Manuella has served on Youth Leadership Council (YLC), taking on leadership roles within Girls Group programming spaces. Natural leader, Manuella shared the YLC is full of like-minded, hardworking students that encourage each other to grow as leaders and thrive as students.
Manuella’s experience with YLC has given her more space to collaborate with youth leaders and engage in a positive peer-pressure environment as both a mentor and mentee. The leadership opportunities she has at Girls Group have also inspired her to run for president of her school’s Black Student Union.
Manuella has learned about leadership, goal setting, and is currently preparing for college thanks to Girls Group. This year, she has participated in many Girls Group Year-Round Enrichment opportunities including the Entrepreneurship Workshop: The Girls Group’s “Dolphin Tank” (modeled after “Shark Tank”) and the tour and student panel at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business. This tour confirmed that Manuella’s goal is to ultimately attend University of Michigan Ross School of Business and pursue entrepreneurship.
“It has ALWAYS been my dream to become a business woman and I hope one day it’ll come true.” Manuella plans on using all the tools and support Girls Group has given her to accomplish her goal.