Inspired by a leadership conference a few years ago, Senior Bella Pefianco began the Whitefield Girl Talk chapter which meets every Wednesday morning. Bella’s additional involvement with the ADDO Institute has trained her as a leader in her generation. The Institute derived its name from ADDO, the Latin verb for inspire, and holds yearly ADDO Gatherings with motivational speakers for high school students, partners with Chick-fil-A to train leaders, and sponsors study abroad programs through the University of Georgia. Here is Bella’s story.
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A couple of summers ago, I read an article about a one-day youth leadership conference that was being held in Atlanta. I was reluctant to attend at first but after reading the keynote speaker list, I was intrigued. Former Coach Vince Dooley, and former KSU President, Dr. Betty Siegel were among the speakers to headline the event. I asked a couple of my friends to go with me and finally convinced someone to take a day out of their lazy summer and accompany me to the conference. We had no expectations really, other than to have fun and enjoy the speakers. At the end of the day, several hundred students walked away from the conference inspired and ready to make an impact on their communities. I was certainly one of them.
One speaker, in particular, caught my interest - Haley Kilpatrick. Haley founded “Girl Talk,” a mentoring program designed for high school to mentor middle school girls and help them navigate through the confusing and awkward years of life. From Haley’s own difficult personal middle school experience, she decided to become a part of the solution. Since I had been a small group leader for a group of middle school girls at my church for a few years, I recognized the value in the Girl Talk program and saw a need at Whitefield to have a more organized student-to-student mentoring program specifically for girls. One month later, after getting approval from Whitefield administrators, our Girl Talk Chapter was formed. I put a call out for high school mentors, expecting to get only a couple of volunteers, and surprisingly got an overwhelming response with a superfluous amount of applicants. For the past two years we have met for breakfast every Wednesday morning with eighth-grade girls and have discussed topics such as bullying, finding quality friends, dating, being a good friend to others, and how to handle being left out.
As a group, we have become involved in several community service projects and have raised money by hosting bake sales at local events and selling homemade apple pies at Thanksgiving. We collected cleaning supplies for a local homeless women's and children’s shelter and wrote letters to soldiers serving overseas. These service projects have helped remind us all that sometimes our own problems are less important than others; and taking a small part of time out of our day can make a big difference in someone’s life. They also aided in creating a healthy bond among the middle school girls and the high school mentors – a bond that the Girl Talk program undoubtedly strives to build.
Recently, I was given the privilege to present my senior service project at chapel. I looked back at where my inspiration came from and it loops back to that first ADDO Gathering. It was there that I realized by taking one small step out of my comfort zone that I had the ability to make a difference in my community. One quote that really inspired me to take action came from the ADDO Conference speaker Ike Reighard. He said, “Your choices today equal your lifestyle tomorrow. I want you to get up in the morning and realize that you can make a difference.”
I am so grateful to the ADDO Institute for their vision and their desire to inspire today for impact tomorrow. I am also thankful to Whitefield, my fellow high school mentors, and all the Middle School girls who have participated. As I graduate this May, I hope I leave them with the knowledge that they have the power to make a difference in their community.
A couple of summers ago, I read an article about a one-day youth leadership conference that was being held in Atlanta. I was reluctant to attend at first but after reading the keynote speaker list, I was intrigued. Former Coach Vince Dooley, and former KSU President, Dr. Betty Siegel were among the speakers to headline the event. I asked a couple of my friends to go with me and finally convinced someone to take a day out of their lazy summer and accompany me to the conference. We had no expectations really, other than to have fun and enjoy the speakers. At the end of the day, several hundred students walked away from the conference inspired and ready to make an impact on their communities. I was certainly one of them.
One speaker, in particular, caught my interest - Haley Kilpatrick. Haley founded “Girl Talk,” a mentoring program designed for high school to mentor middle school girls and help them navigate through the confusing and awkward years of life. From Haley’s own difficult personal middle school experience, she decided to become a part of the solution. Since I had been a small group leader for a group of middle school girls at my church for a few years, I recognized the value in the Girl Talk program and saw a need at Whitefield to have a more organized student-to-student mentoring program specifically for girls. One month later, after getting approval from Whitefield administrators, our Girl Talk Chapter was formed. I put a call out for high school mentors, expecting to get only a couple of volunteers, and surprisingly got an overwhelming response with a superfluous amount of applicants. For the past two years we have met for breakfast every Wednesday morning with eighth-grade girls and have discussed topics such as bullying, finding quality friends, dating, being a good friend to others, and how to handle being left out.
As a group, we have become involved in several community service projects and have raised money by hosting bake sales at local events and selling homemade apple pies at Thanksgiving. We collected cleaning supplies for a local homeless women's and children’s shelter and wrote letters to soldiers serving overseas. These service projects have helped remind us all that sometimes our own problems are less important than others; and taking a small part of time out of our day can make a big difference in someone’s life. They also aided in creating a healthy bond among the middle school girls and the high school mentors – a bond that the Girl Talk program undoubtedly strives to build.
Recently, I was given the privilege to present my senior service project at chapel. I looked back at where my inspiration came from and it loops back to that first ADDO Gathering. It was there that I realized by taking one small step out of my comfort zone that I had the ability to make a difference in my community. One quote that really inspired me to take action came from the ADDO Conference speaker Ike Reighard. He said, “Your choices today equal your lifestyle tomorrow. I want you to get up in the morning and realize that you can make a difference.”
I am so grateful to the ADDO Institute for their vision and their desire to inspire today for impact tomorrow. I am also thankful to Whitefield, my fellow high school mentors, and all the Middle School girls who have participated. As I graduate this May, I hope I leave them with the knowledge that they have the power to make a difference in their community.