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LaPorcha, Teen Mentor

 When I was 14 I started Girls’ LEAP as a participant. At first, I hated Girls’ LEAP!  My friends and I were terrors in class, we didn’t participate, we didn’t listen, and we made things hard for our teachers. I remember thinking,“ I don’t need to be here, I know how to defend myself: I know how to fight!” I had a really bad attitude. People told me I was intimidating. Originally, I wasn’t sure about the Teen Mentor Program. In the end my best friend, Angela, and I made a deal that we would both do it. I’m really glad I did.

Now, I’m 17, and have been a Teen Mentor for 2.5 years. Changing my attitude was (and is) an ongoing battle. I can still have a bad attitude but it’s calmed down a lot. I’ve really matured too. I now have better control of my temper.

The most meaningful part of Girls’ LEAP to me is getting to meet new girls and impacting their lives. It’s great being a positive role model, and guiding them towards a better path. For me Girls’ LEAP means making a big impact. It means being able to meet a lot of girls, make a lot of friends, share stories and really get involved in a worthy cause. Being able to impact their lives and help them is helping me because together, we’re changing the world.

Becca, Teaching Woman 

When I first heard twenty teenage girls shouting “NO!” something deep inside me stirred, and I knew I had to get involved with Girls’ LEAP. I couldn’t remember the last time I had used my own voice assertively.  As a teen, I felt pressure to conform to conventional standards of beauty, no matter what the cost.

I have been working with our Teen Mentors to help them grow as young women and break their own silences.  They hold more power in determining their lives than they realize. I believe our world would be entirely different if the voices of these young women of color were heard and valued.

At Girls’ LEAP, I found women who mentored and challenged me even as I learned to support the Teen Mentors. I realized that physical self-defense can be exciting and difficult, but breaking our internal silences and asserting the right to be our body’s keeper is the real challenge.

Leshemah, Teen Mentor

When I first found Girls’ LEAP my friend and I were unfamiliar with the company and the Teen Mentor job. I remember when I fist walked into training all I heard was the no’s and saw the kicks – which you can imagine looked a little strange at first sight. Throughout the training I realized the extent of emotional depth and the intensity of the experience.

The most meaningful part has been working with young kids. I remember my first workshop was a one-day workshop in a community center. I was weary and didn’t know what to expect, but then one girl game up to me and said, “I want to do what you do when I grow up.” That’s what really got to me. It showed the girls’ appreciation of the program, which allowed me to embrace it as well.

Girls’ LEAP is a wonderful place for girls because it’s an environment where they can feel comfortable and be themselves. Girls’ LEAP is about finding yourself and your voice, but also about knowing how to use it in uncomfortable situations.
  
 
Saara Works, Teaching Woman

I wanted to work with Girls’ LEAP because I always hoped to work with women who had survived sexual assault, to help them deal with the emotional repercussions of having been through that. I learned about Girls’ LEAP and I thought, “Wow that’s even better, I could help prevent this from happening in the first place.”Before Girls’ LEAP I was really quiet and shy. I avoided confrontation, even if it meant being unhappy. Now I speak up for myself because I’ve come to realize that although it might feel a little bit awkward, speaking up for myself is important and necessary. “My comfort and my happiness are worth working for.”

It’s been important to practice what I preach so that I can truly call myself a role model. The girls receive lot of negative messages, especially from the media and the music they listen to. I feel I need to counter what they hear and be at least one positive force for them.  It’s really exciting witnessing the changes in the girls.
 
  
CT, Teaching Woman & Previous Teen Mentor
My name is Christina, but everyone calls me CT. I grew up in Dorchester but attended public schools in Wellesley through the METCO program.  I was pretty good at juggling both worlds until one day in high school they collided. During my junior year of high school a string of rape attacks occurred in my neighborhood. I asked a friend to get me a knife.

Girls’ LEAP taught me that an aggressive attitude can make a dangerous situation more volatile. I believed that I needed a weapon, because I wasn’t comfortable with the power of my body and my mind. LEAP does not make me think that I’m superwoman, but I have learned to avoid and escape dangerous situations.

My own experiences are a vital advantage when working with Girls’ LEAP participants. We come from the same neighborhoods. The fact that a participant can identify herself in me is influential. I want other young women to understand that they have the same capacity to be empowered and safe.


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