A Beautiful Me to host self-defense class for girls

A Macomb high school senior has organized a pilot self-defense course for high school girls.

Kate Sorbie, 17, created the beginner self-defense course in partnership with A Beautiful Me and the Shelby Township Police Department. The course stems from her Gold Award project with the Girl Scouts. Sorbie said she wanted her project to be impactful and have long-lasting effects.

“I knew I wanted to tackle something important,” she said. “The class will take what we learn on paper and makes them practical life skills.”

Sorbie is a senior at the International Academy of Macomb. She partnered with A Beautiful Me because she has been through some of its programs and found that its goals aligned with her own.

The pilot course will consist of two classes taught by Shelby Township police officers. The classes are aimed for girls between the ages of 14 and 18 years old.

The first class takes place from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., Jan. 21 at the A Beautiful Me offices, 310 Huron Ave. in Port Huron. The second class will take place from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Jan. 28 at the Macomb Intermediate School District building, 44001 Garfield Road in Clinton Township.

Each class is limited to 20 spots, and people can reserve their spot with a $10 deposit. People interested can sign up at www.ABeautifulMe.com. Supplies will be provided.

“We wanted to keep it relatively small because we want people to feel comfortable,” Sorbie said. “It’s a hard topic and you want people to have a connection with the police officers teaching.”

Two female police officers will be teaching the pilot classes. Sorbie said this was intentional because it would give the girls a role model and make them comfortable.

Karen Palka, executive director of A Beautiful Me, said she was happy to help Sorbie with the self-defense class.

“I’m just so excited about this because I really feel like this could help our young people,” Palka said.

Sorbie’s goal is to expand the self-defense courses into the physical education curriculum in school districts. She said she hopes that partnering with the Shelby Township Police Department will help her get closer to that goal because it teaches an intensive self-defense class.

“I think (self-defense) is important for students to know,” Sorbie said. “I think the schools will recognize this if we can present it in a way that is reasonable and possible to do.”

Additionally, Sorbie said she wants to get feedback from the girls who take the pilot course. She said this would help to expand the class by letting her and the police officers know what the girls want to be taught.

“The strategies we’re taught work to an extent, but still one in five women will be sexually assaulted in her lifetime,” Sorbie said. “Honestly, the strategies aren’t working enough.”

Sorbie said she hopes girls will recognize the impact the class could have and will join out of their own self-interest.

Contact McKenna Golat at mgolat@gannett.com or 810-292-0122.

This article originally appeared on Port Huron Times Herald: A Beautiful Me to host self-defense classes for girls