'Women of Promise' connects teens, mentors

Even with the doors still closed, everyone at Lake Park High School's East campus could tell something special was happening inside the cafeteria.

After-school crowds gathered at the entrance to peek at a group of about 40 girls who held invites that permitted them past the woman at the door.

Through the windows, crowds noticed the everyday laminate tables and plastic seats had disappeared. In their place stood smaller tables covered with linens, flower petals and three-tiered dessert trays.

As if it were an upscale banquet, math teacher Jessica Foster greeted each female student and directed her to an assigned seat, where a gift sat on her place setting.

The lucky students being showered with this VIP treatment weren't, in fact, there due to luck at all. Instead, they earned their invites to the second annual Women of Promise Tea Party and each girl was hand-picked by a Lake Park staff member for demonstrating leadership potential.

These girls aren't the top athletes, theater stars or class presidents - but their staff mentors think they could be.

The event is Foster's brainchild, even though she hated tea parties until her stepmother dragged her to two of them. After falling in love with a tea party's social dynamic, Foster created Women of Promise to engage girls in conversations with mentors, help them meet peers outside their own social circles, and spark their talents for leadership.

"The idea is that a lot of these students don't get the attention they need," Foster said. "So I wanted something where there could be positive conversations between female students and people they could look up to and admire."

Foster chose Sha-von Miller of Hanover Park to join her at the tea because the sophomore is always so responsible. And Sha-von said she was honored to be chosen by her favorite math teacher.

"Mrs. Foster's so understanding and even my family knows she's my favorite," Sha-von said. "She's like another mother at school and will even help with other classes if I need it."

Lake Park East Assistant Principal Kris Frandson and counselor Mary Martinez agreed a tea was the perfect format for the event because, Martinez said, it's a "feminine thing to do."

Not all of the girls were sure exactly why they'd been invited. But many, like Erin Celenza of Itasca, agreed they felt flattered to be acknowledged by their mentors.

Erin was chosen by Frandson, who chatted with her about her progress from a worried freshman who couldn't find her classes to a calmer sophomore choir singer.

"We always see each other and joke around," Frandson said. "And I consider her a friend."

Food, products and small gifts were donated by Lake Park faculty and the community. And members of the Bloomingdale Area Women in Business also joined in to act as mentors.

Foster said she plans to continue the annual tea and hopes it will become even more well-known as a privilege - and a fun time.

"This is an event with no hidden agenda to get them to join an organization or anything," Foster said. "It's just one hour of wonderful conversations and connections and we hope good things will grow from that."