Hadley Junior High educator helps teens 'feel empowered'
Hillary Shumate worried that teenage girls were watching a little too much of a show that called women "grenades" and reading a little too much about a clumsy damsel in distress.
It was enough to make Shumate wonder, where were all the "positive, strong role models for girls?"
So she sat down with some co-workers at Hadley Junior High School about four years ago and thought how nice it would be to host an event that would help girls "feel empowered, be healthy and strong" - and maybe look beyond "Jersey Shore" and "Twilight."
Shumate, then an eighth-grade literacy teacher, didn't just think she had a good idea. With the support of the Glen Ellyn school's PTA, she followed through and created a program called POW!, or Powerful Outstanding Women.
"Her enthusiasm has only grown, which, to me, is pretty fabulous," says parent Danice McGrath, who sat on the PTA board at the time and serves as chairwoman of the event.
Teens attend POW! sessions tailored to their interests and a keynote speech with a female mentor (many bring their moms and grandmas).
"This age, kids tend to pull away from their parents and they're becoming independent, and I think this day allows them to have some bonding time," Shumate said.
It's also a chance to learn about nutrition, do some yoga, try improv, practice martial arts and boost their confidence.
"They'll find an interest that they never knew they had, learn how to better take care of themselves, find a hobby that makes them healthy or expresses their creative side," Shumate said.
POW! took off, so much so that Schumate also created an event called BAM!, or Becoming Amazing Men, for teenage boys. Each is free and held at Hadley every other year.
"They hear great, healthy messages from the moment they walk in the door," said McGrath, whose three kids have participated in the sessions.
While POW! traditionally draws hundreds of students early in the year, Schumate, now a problem-based learning coach, continues to post empowering videos and messages about female role models on POW!'s Facebook page.
Other schools are taking a page from Schumate, too, adopting their own version of POW!
Gregory and Crone middle schools in Naperville, for instance, hosted their events last month and last year, respectively. And Schumate is happy to share what she's learned from booking speakers and planning activities.
Through surveys she gives at the end of POW!, Schumate usually hears from girls who have discovered a new passion.
"One of my favorite ones, a girl just said, 'It was the first opportunity I had in a long time to feel like myself,'" she said.