BUFFALO, NY (W.K.B.W.) — On Sunday, nearly 50 young Black women joined a leadership boot camp at Houghton College.
The camp is the 'Unleash Your Greatness' program created by the Director of Resiliency for Villa Maria College, Duncan Kirkwood. He says they made the boot camp help empower young men, but now is doing the same for these teenage girls, helping them become confident and poised.
"We want to change what their normal looks like. We want them being the best to be their normal baseline," said Kirkwood.
From Sunday until Wednesday this week, the girls will be participating in seminars from community leaders like, a female Buffalo firefighter, a family counselor, and Say Yes Buffalo organizers to kick off what Kirkwood says is a leadership journey.
"The push-ups, sit-ups, and running will break them out of their shell a little bit," said Kirkwood, "when you're running three miles, all of a sudden, you're not thinking about who's the coolest or how to be, how to stand out and have bad behavior. You're thinking about. I'm in this moment. How do I be great? How do I get the best out of this moment?"
Parents like Elizabeth Eaton said she hopes her daughter Jada will return more self-assured, becoming a leader in their community.
"I'm hoping that she comes back from being introverted and becomes a little more extroverted because she has so much to share," said Eaton.
