By Lila Tan and Tsetan Dhondup
As the weekend before the first day was coming to an end, all the girls were ready to take their first trip to the Intrepid Museum as a GOALS girl. Waiting in front of the Museum, the fifty selected girls were filled with the feeling of either excitement or nervousness. With the GOALS Summer Intensive Program being a new, vibrant space for them, many of them had to not only learn new names of their peers, but also had to comfortably leave their personal bubble and allow themselves to communicate to the staff and with one another.
With our first group activity being the Group Norms, these girls were able to really set their own rules and expectations for what they wanted from the program and from one another. Not only did the girls have the chance to think of their group norms, but they were also able to see that the staff had their own norms, which really allowed all beings in the program to feel united as one. With most of the norms mainly revolving around the idea of respecting the environment and each other, one common norm that spoke the loudest was "to have fun."
Speaking of having fun, the girls got the chance to create vision boards that gave the staff an insight into the interests of all the GOALS girls and it was a creative outlet for those who are more artistic or abstract. Topics to help guide them into thinking of what they wanted to make included:
- Hobbies, traits, skills
- Heroes or role models
- Animals (real/imaginary)
- Self-identification as a family member, student, friend, scientist and/or girl
They were given materials such as different types of magazines, scrapbook materials, markers and glue. On the foam boards they had the freedom to create anything to showcase aspirations and/or inspirations of their future regarding college or career. This will be nice memorabilia to look at and see what each girl is working towards in life. |