Skip to main content

UTM hosts AAUW Teen Girls Summit


Simple acts can change a teen girl’s life.

On Saturday, March 29, the Martin branch of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) and the UTM peer group SABER in part with other organizations on campus hosted a Sister-to-Sister Teen Girls’ Summit in the University Center.

Teen girls from West Tennessee were invited to the campus for a day of informative but relaxed sessions where they could learn more about how to deal with pressures that young girls often face such as body image, violence, substances and sex.

The girls did two chat sessions with no adults present where they could learn more about whatever was on their minds and get answers from girls who went through similar situations and survived.

This allowed them opportunity to ask questions that may be difficult or embarrassing to ask their parents.

The adults were involved in a separate chat room away from the young girls. They discussed topics similar to the girls and learned ways to talk about topics sometimes difficult to talk about.

For a break, the girls chose two activities in which to participate. There were line dancing and steppin’ classes along with team building and self-defense.

The event ended with a sharing session in which everyone came together in Watkins Auditorium. Parents shared that they urge other parents to talk to their teens and the teens shared that they want their parents to ask questions about all aspects of their life.

During the sharing session, event coordinator Kandace Fortner was presented with the AAUW Natalie W. Yates Memorial Internship. Fortner is a UTM graduate student in Education from Greenfield.

“Overall, it was very successful. The purpose was to give young girls a place to talk without being embarrassed and I think we accomplished that,” said Dr. Jennifer Levy, president of the Martin branch of AAUW.

The summit was made possible by donors that included the AAUW Martin Branch, the AAUW National Office, UTM Admissions Office, Office Products of Martin, Greenfield Banking Company, UTM Counseling and Career Services, UTM Business Department and other programs used to put the event together.

Financial contributions were made by the AAUW Martin Branch, the Martin Breakfast Optimist Club, Wal-Mart in Martin, AAUW member Lucille Sharrock and Wal-Mart in Union City.

Donations can still be made payable AAUW to help defray the cost of the event.

“I consider the Teen Girls' Summit to be a success. We had a good amount of participation. It was a good experience for the girls. Girls at that age need to be able to talk to their peers about the difficult issues that they are facing today. Dr. Levy did an excellent job designing a format that would enable the girls to voice their opinions. We also had excellent help from student volunteers. The Summit never would not have been as successful if we had not had such great assistance from the students. They were great.

“This year we had a great group of girls to help and I think each of them found it to be very rewarding. Being involved with the summit enables us as college students to stay connected with today's youth and hopefully influence them in a positive way.

Being involved with the summit also brings about great leadership skills.

Each of the girls that contributed to this summit displayed leadership skills that will definitely help them in their future endeavors,” said Fortner.

For more information on this event or to make a donation, contact Dr. Levy in the UTM Counseling and Career Services, located in the university center.