New Aurora 5K helps Girls Run the World

Girls like Lamya Evans and Kiairra Cannon used to fight in the halls of East Aurora High School a couple years back, and it was causing problems.

Students who looked like them were gaining a stereotype as "loud ghetto girls," and some of them weren't behaving or performing well in school.

"We recognized a need to build a sisterhood," said Jaclyn Montroy, a social worker at East High who counsels Cannon and many others.

But when the group, now called Soul Sisters, began in November 2016, "it was a room full of girls that all fought each other," Montroy said.

Not the most pleasant start.

"It seems like we're in trouble," Cannon said she remembers thinking as the Soul Sisters gathered the first time, following orders from school officials.

The principal and a cop were in the room, and the girls weren't fond of either.

Then the cop started speaking, explaining why she was there, opening up about some of her own experiences, although she's 10 years removed from high school.

The cop is Aurora Police Officer Skyy Calice, 27, who wanted to create a youth group so she could do something to prevent crime among young people instead of just arresting them for it.

Soul Sisters isn't the only youth group Calice works with now, but one of three. The others are its counterparts at West Aurora and Metea Valley High Schools called Sisters United and BYOU, which stands for Be Your Own You.

All aim to empower girls who may face home life challenges, rough disciplinary histories or struggles in school.

The sisterhoods at West High and Metea involve girls of all ethnicities, while East High's Soul Sisters caters to African-American girls like Evans, a junior, and Cannon, a senior.

"They've got a whole lot of soul and attitude, but they are sisters," Calice said about the 14 members of the group at East High. "They need each other."

Now these "sisters" are preparing for a new 5K race to support future efforts of the programs Calice leads to empower girls.

At 9 a.m. Saturday, June 2, the Girls Run the World 5K will step off in Phillips Park, and the Soul Sisters will be there to take part, runners or not. Participants can sign up for $25 online at girlsruntheworld5k.itsyourrace.com or for $35 on race day.

"We're going to wing it," Calice said. "We can overcome anything, and we're going to overcome this 5K."

Participants like Evans and Cannon say they've overcome fights, thoughts of dropping out, drama and doubts to get to their current role as leaders, or "original girls," in Soul Sisters, encouraging younger members to set goals and stay focused.

"You feel like you have to be on your best behavior," Evans said.

A typical weekly meeting of Soul Sisters is a check-in, a chance for each participant to provide an update on her life and its challenges. It's also a chance for adult leaders like Calice to teach coping skills to girls whose default mode often is "on edge."

Participants learn they can set a good example by staying calm and supporting one another, not getting catty.

"Being a bully is not cool," Calice said. "Disrespecting your mom or your teacher or whoever is trying to help you out is not cool."'

Once these lessons start to show themselves in the behavior of students, they no longer feel like the nagging demands of adults.

Evans and Cannon have noticed their actions carry that kind of weight.

"It's girls that look up to me," Cannon said. "I can tell I'm inspiring you, so I'm doing something right."

Both Evans and Cannon have goals of attending Waubonsee Community College, then transferring to a university, Evans to study nursing and Cannon to learn to conduct autopsies as a medical examiner.

Empowerment to them means growth and a supportive community like the one they've found - and built - from among the girls they used to fight in Soul Sisters.

"It gave me a sense of maturity," Cannon said, "to know the fact I don't have to fight to be strong."

If you go

What: Girls Run the World 5K

When: 9 a.m. Saturday, June 2

Where: Phillips Park Aquatic Center, 828 Montgomery Road, Aurora

Cost: $25 in advance at <a href="http://girlsruntheworld5k.itsyourrace.com/event.aspx?id=10369">girlsruntheworld5k.itsyourrace.com</a>; $35 on race day

Info: (630) 256-5288