“If you told me I would be doing this 10 years ago, I wouldn’t have believed it. To honor the people who saw something in me before I saw it in myself, I aspire to intentionally look for that something special in others and inspire them.”
Waterman told an audience at Mechanics Hall Wednesday night that her coach realized instantly that was her personal story. And her personal story isn’t unlike most of the backgrounds of the girls who attend Girls Inc. today - it’s a lifelong fight for confidence, equity and empowerment in the face of social and cultural pressures that continue to devalue women, and encourage them to break each other down.
Many of the girls attending Saturday’s event were from a Girls Inc. of Worcester program that teaches young women leadership skills and gives them the tools to pursue careers in STEM.
“We want to expand their minds and show them they can do just about anything. Our girls are the leaders of the future,” program director Brenda Nikas-Hayes said. The JetBlue Foundation awarded Girls Inc. of Worcester a $50,000 grant to help with travel costs to events like the one on Saturday and to help them set up a partnership with Bridgewater State University, which has an aviation program.
“There’s nothing wrong with there being a lot of guys [in aviation] but I think diversity can show that you can be anything that you want,” said Totoski Mwangi of Girls Inc. in Worcester. “Because that’s what we’re told as kids. but as adults it’s not really what you see.”
