Name: Monika Dawson
Year: Junior
School: MSB
What is GirlTalk?
GirlTalk is a mentoring organization that Georgetown students lead in which we mentor high school girls at Duke Ellington School of the Arts. The program is a weekly program in which we go over to their school, bring them lunch, and have open discussions about various topics such as education, health, friends, family, and anything else that you would talk about.
Why did you decide to get involved with GirlTalk?
I’ve been involved with GirlTalk since freshman year because one of my upperclassmen friends at the time needed more mentors, and wanted some underclassmen to do it – because it always seems that there is just not a lot of underclassmen who participate. So I started and ever since then I kept doing it.
What is the most valuable thing you have learned from doing Girl Talk?
The most valuable thing I learned is that leadership is not easy. It’s a big task to take on because there are so many complexities and moving parts to an organization that you have to be mindful of, internally and externally. But I have definitely learned to deal with various types of people in order to make our organization have synergy, and operate it at 100%.
What is Urban Fare?
Urban Fare is an annual showcase that aims to highlight the talents of our Duke Ellington girls, as well as Georgetown. Sometimes we try to incorporate DC-talent. We are more focused on, this year, to get more people out. But we do it every year just because everything that we do, as far as the mentoring side, happens at Duke Ellington. They don’t really get to come to Georgetown and experience us in our environment. So Urban Fare is the one chance we have to bridge the gap between the two communities, while celebrating arts, culture, and our girls’ success.
What about Urban Fare are you most excited about?
I’m most excited about the documentary. This is the first time we aimed to capture what we do on video and I’m kind of nervous about how it will come out. But I am really excited to see that, and to share that with everyone. Any kind of philanthropic organization, it’s really hard to explain to people what you do in a short breadth. So making these visuals is really important to get people to know and care about the cause and raising general awareness.
Urban Fare will be held on April 3 at Gaston Hall at 6:00pm. You can get tickets here. RSVP to the event here. To stay updated with GirlTalk, like them on Facebook.