Empowerment 101
Current Project Stage: Implement
Self-confidence within teenage girls in urban schools tends to be at its lowest point in today's society. Teenage girls attending urban 
schools face greater problems than their same age peers in wealthier communities. Teenage girls attending urban schools , are not given the proper guidance at home or in their campuses. Not only do teenage girls lack the motivation they need at school but also they face problems regarding gender expectations and may lack the social capital they need to be able to succeed with their educational goals.
Empowerment 101 is a one semester based class, offered to 10th grade teenage girls, in which they are given the opportunity to lead their own classroom and learn the subject of their choice. The class will work similar to that of a design thinking class in which the students participating will work on a different project each month. The projects will be designed to find solutions to the problems they see amongst their communities, classrooms and families. The Empowerment 101 class though teacher –free will have one counselor serve as the advisor to overlook the classroom and 3 senior girls to serve as bigger sisters to the 10th grade girls. Leadership roles in the class will be rotated amongst thee different teams created within the class and the 3 seniors girls chosen to be the class leaders. The purpose of Empowerment 101 is to allow these students to contribute their ideas to create a safe environment for their peers and for the future generations. Empowerment 101 is to give the leadership skills needed for teenage girls to develop their self-confidence and help them overcome ethnical or gender related barriers they may face on campus and around their community. Empowerment 101 is to also help the teenage girls create bonds amongst their peers and staff members to help them with their journey to a higher education.
Next Step: Test in classroom
Design Studio: Glendale Community College
Student Design Team: Melissa Avila, Melisa Espinoza, Maritza Vasquez