When Bruce Wood Elementary fifth graders Lillian Rodela, Zara Ortega and Sophia Johns walk into a room, they walk in with confidence and poise. For eleven and twelve year old young ladies, their presence is striking and one can tell the moment they begin speaking that they are going places. The girls credit being members of the “GLO Club” with helping them to find their new found self assurance.
GLO, which stands for Girls Leadership Opportunities, is a club focused on building the confidence and poise of young girls coupled with the opportunity to hone their leadership skills. Now in its third year at Wood Elementary, the club’s sponsor, Ms. Katrina Wilson, says she started the GLO Club as a way to help young girls reach their full potential. “We meet weekly on Mondays after school,” shared Ms. Wilson. “We start our meetings with self affirmations that the girls recite out loud and then each month we focus on an objective like public speaking or etiquette. It has been extremely rewarding to watch these young ladies step into leadership roles and own them.”
The three girls serve as officers of the club - Lillian as President, Zara as Vice President and Sophia as Secretary. Lillian shared that the club has helped her to find her place. “The group is full of caring young women,” she said. “It has inspired me to help other young girls to find their place.”
“GLO is also an opportunity to help others if you have a passion for helping people,” shared Sophia. The group also focuses on acts of service and members recently volunteered with the North Texas Food Bank and facilitated a blanket drive this past December for residents at Countryview Nursing Home. “I enjoy helping others and to get to do it with like minded people makes me happy,” Zara shared.
The spring is shaping up to be a busy one for the group. In March, the club will host their annual Easter Egg hunt with the nursing home residents at Countryview, followed by a month of etiquette lessons in April and the year will end with their annual tea party in May.
The girls shared that joining GLO was one of the best decisions they have made. “When I saw the club members last year and watched how they connected with one another, it made me want to be a part of that community once school started again in August,” shared Sophia. Zara agreed. “I would definitely recommend that girls apply to be a member of GLO. The community has been great for my self confidence,” she said.
Ms. Wilson shared that club members must be in either fourth or fifth grade and must submit an application along with a teacher reference letter. Applications are accepted at the beginning of school each year. “We are looking for girls who have the potential for leadership,” Ms. Wilson said. “Many times girls just need someone to take the time to invest in them. The potential is there; they just need someone to guide and show them the way.”
As President, Lillian’s voice at the table is one that makes you sit up and listen. She shared that the GLO Club is the only all girls club in Terrell ISD. “But we plan to change that once we enter middle school next year,” she said. “We want to expand the club and have a chapter at Furlough Middle School. I want other girls to have the same leadership and service opportunities that I have received being a member of GLO, but most importantly I want other girls to learn to be confident in their own skin.”