Girls with Grit: A day to celebrate empowerment

A woman’s place is in the home – or wherever she wants to be. That was among the messages delivered at Revere High School’s annual “Girls with Grit” program.

For a full school day on March 4, 30 girls from Revere Middle School and 30 from Revere High School gathered in the high school auditorium to hear a roster of speakers and participate in group activities aimed at boosting the self-worth of girls on the cusp of womanhood.

According to high school counselor Bonnie Simonelli, one of three staffers in charge of Girls with Grit, it was created to pay homage to International Women’s Day, held on March 9.

“We want to show that girls have options, a lot of options,” she said.

Initially, the Revere program was online only for half the school day, with about half the number of participants.

Students attending Girls with Grit are all invitees, although a girl can ask to come and be accepted. How does a girl get an invitation?

“We know some of the students, some who need kind of a boost,” Simonelli said.

This year’s program began with breakfast in the cafeteria, after which Simonelli explained the theme of the day, which was symbolized by the Broadway musical and film Wicked and The Wizard of Oz, which Simonelli hoped inspired courage, resilience and empowerment.

One speaker was a female iron worker, who spoke about how women can succeed in jobs typically dominated by men.

Another speaker talked about starting a business and dealing with social media without allowing it to become a negative force to your mental health.

Entrepreneur Mary Beth Kaczmarek spoke about her experiences starting Plumbing Tech, a plumbing company based in Richfield. Similarly, Nycole Kane talked about building her Fairlawn painting business.

A breast cancer survivor, Emily, told about the challenges of overcoming a lethal disease and turning it into a source of strength.

Lisa Schaefer provided the girls with a sound bath, a meditative experience where participants are “bathed” in sound waves to relax.

Julie Kowell, who works at the middle school, talked about dealing with a job while battling breast cancer.

“We also [had] a workshop about choosing your path, the choices girls can make, kind of following your Yellow Brick Road,” Simonelli said.

In that regard, intervention specialist Becky Dolosich, one of the organizers of Girls with Grit, led a discussion group on choosing a path and realizing its challenges and rewards.In addition to breakfast and lunch, the girls in attendance received Girls with Grit T-shirts provided by event organizer Nancy Vondrak, a career specialist for Revere and Cuyahoga Valley Career Center. 

Photo caption: Program coordinators (l-r) Nancy Vondrak, Becky Dolosich and Bonnie Simonelli created “Girls with Grit” in honor of International Women’s Day in March. Photo submitted.